Nightblade
by KnightEstoc
Summary: Kirito and Asuna survived the death game of Sword Art Online due to their skills. But what about a mutual friend, whose only talents lied in his intellect? This is his story.
1. November 6th, 2022

**Chapter 1**

* * *

**November 6****th****, 2022**

I sat on my bed, looking at the various pieces of hardware scattered around. A small smile rose to my lips unbidden as I thought of the long wait to get my hands on a copy of the only game I had been waiting for. That game being, of course, Sword Art Online. The line had been astronomically long, and I was close to not being able to get one. At the shop where I purchased my copy, the line stretched out around the block. I got one of the few remaining copies, and I was so relieved that I had my hands on one of the 10,000 copies.

I checked the time on my wall monitor. It was getting close to 13:00, the time when the game would be open to the public. I swung myself off the bed and starting getting the NerveGear hooked up. After everything was plugged in, I strapped it onto my head and turned it on. After running through the basic start up sequence, it asked me to run through a calibration sequence. It made sense; after all, the machine needed to know how my mind worked in order to run the virtual reality correctly. I followed the instructions exactly, not seeing a reason to disobey. After all, it would be bad to end up with a distorted nerve pattern.

Even after all the calibration was complete, I still had a few minutes before the game would start. I relaxed on the small bed of my room. I was alone in the small house; my only company was my cat sleeping in the sunlight coming through the window. My parents were at work and wouldn't be back until after 19:00. That gave me a full six hours of uninterrupted game time. I kept catching myself glancing at the time at the top left of the display window. 12:53, 12:54. I tried to not watch the clock.

I closed my eyes in anticipation of the linking. Leaving your own body and hopping into a virtual one seemed so amazing; you could be someone completely different. Someone with power and skills unlike your own. The best part of virtual reality games was using your mind to control that person. If you tried hard enough and practiced enough, you might be able to drill skills into muscle memory. Either way, you became someone else and not yourself. For me, that could only be an improvement. I was the epitome of a multiplayer game player. Smaller, weak, not into sports; the list stretched on and I matched most of them.

I felt my lips curve into a wry smile. Ah, my mind followed the routine paths of self-loathing and disgust. Most of the time, I kept my mind busy enough to not bother thinking about it, but in those occasional moments of relaxation and peace, the outside noise was quiet enough that my mind would start running in circles, spiraling deeper and deeper into contemplation. I opened my eyes and checked the time again, to be rewarded with only a minute left before the game launched. I shifted to a more comfortable position on the bed and felt my cat jump up and curl up next to me. He enjoyed sleeping next to me while I was on the bed, though he jumped down if I twitched too much. He was going to love the Full Dive then, as I wasn't able to move.

The time on the monitor clicked to 1:00. I felt my heartbeat rise in anticipation as I uttered the words that would let me log into Sword Art Online. "Link Start!"

Immediately, my vision went white as the real world slipped away. I felt as though I was falling through streaks of lights. After I fell, each of the senses were checked quickly – I felt a quick pressure on my hands as though someone had grabbed ahold of me for a brief moment, followed by a brief flash of light to verify sight. After sight came hearing with a soft beep in my left ear, and then taste. I wondered why Argus chose the taste of strawberries, but I didn't particularly mind.

Soon, I came to the avatar customization screen. I was momentarily stunned by the wide variety of options available; I could play as a female, though I quickly dismissed that as a possibility. I manipulated my avatar so that it was slightly taller than my actual size, though only by a few inches. I knew from experience the difference height made in interactions, so it was better safe than sorry. I kept the hair color the same as my own, though I changed the hair style slightly so that it was longer and, in my opinion, cooler. I was ready to go, as soon as I decided upon the name of my SAO character. Rythin had a good ring to it, I thought, swiftly typed that in, and entered the rest of the game.

I was greeted by the welcome screen and swiftly tumbled through streaks of blue light and electricity. When my vision cleared, I was standing in an open arena that was swiftly filling with other players logging in. I looked down at my feet – I was wearing the typical adventuring boots that everybody started with, as well as the dark pants. I couldn't stop smiling as the thought struck me. This is virtual reality. I reached out in front of me and stretched my fingers in their fingerless gloves wide, knowing full well that my body in the real world wasn't moving. I moved off to the side of the spawn area, wanting to get away from the crowds. I never did like them.

As I moved away, I thought about the creator of this game and the NerveGear, Akihiko Kayaba. The man was a genius; he created this game and the hardware necessary to play it by himself. Apparently, he'd been developing the game for such a long time that it started when he was in his 20's. That takes real dedication, and I wondered if I would ever be that dedicated to something. I found myself walking down a path with plenty of shopkeepers selling items and equipment – I figured I'd soon become acquainted with the NPCs that ran the shops in due time, so I didn't look at the wares.

"Eh…?" A small unintentional grunt of surprised interrupted my train of thought when I saw two figures sprinting off into an alleyway. From this distance, I couldn't make out any details, but I figured I'd follow them and see what happened. If they knew where to go, chances were good that one or both had been a beta tester. One in ten players in this game were beta testers; people who played the game before I had a chance to access it. They most likely knew where the good quests, spawns, and drops were. In any event, I might be able to receive some instruction on how to play this game. I knew there wasn't any magic and that all we had available to us was medieval weaponry like swords, axes, and daggers.

I rounded the corner and saw the two figures standing in the middle of the alley. They seemed to be talking, although before I got close enough to listen to their conversation they turned and continued on their way, most likely to go fight mobs and reap the rewards. I followed them from a safe distance, not sure if they'd mind my company. I followed the two out of the city, noticing that one person led the other. The one with black hair seemed to know his way around the Town of Beginnings better than the other one with a headband and lighter hair, so I mentally revised my initial guess. The one with the black hair was most likely a beta tester, though I doubted the other man was.

Eventually, they stopped in the middle of the field. A flash of polygons signaled the spawning of an enemy, one that turned out to be a boar. The tusks looked vicious, though as a mook on the first floor they couldn't be too hard. The man with the headband took up a ready stance and charged the boar, though it quickly sent him flying away with a well-placed headbutt. I winced in shared pain, as the blow looked like it landed in a very sensitive region. The man with red hair writhed on the ground for a time before the beta tester got fed up with him.

"Oh come on, seriously? You can't feel any pain." At his words, the red-haired man blinked and stopped writhing.

"Oh yeah, you're right." He stood up gingerly, as if anticipating more pain. "Sorry, habit."

The beta tester looked at the other man, probably looking at his health bar. "Remember what I said – the first move is the most important."

The injured member slumped forward a slight bit. "Yeah, that's easy for you to say." He looked over to the boar; it was twitching its tail and calmly grunting occasionally. "But it won't stand still!" he grunted in exasperation. The beta tester smiled, and proceeded to kneel and pick up a small pebble.

"If you do your initial motion right…" While speaking, he tossed the pebble in the air and caught it. He drew back his arm to throw it. His actions made no sense – a pebble couldn't do much damage to the boar, if any. Its hide was just too thick. As he drew back his arm, though, something strange happened. The pebbled started glowing faintly red. "…and activate a Sword Skill at the right time…" He narrowed his eyes, and threw the glowing rock. As it left his hand, it made a small boom and streaked toward the boar. I let out a small gasp of surprise, not expecting a pebble to be able to be used as a weapon. The pebble struck the boar on its left flank, causing it to squeal in irritation. There was a small red spot on the boar's hide where the pebble struck, though it quickly faded away. The man straightened and said, "…the system pretty much guarantees you'll always hit your target."

"Initial…motion…?" The man with a bandana sounded as confused as I felt. How were you supposed to know when to attack? Was there a small chime in your ear to tell you that the skill was ready? I knew about the Sword Skills, of course; the main draw of SAO was its fluid combat system.

The beta tester in blue had drawn his sword and was holding it in one hand, facing off against the angry boar. The enemy mook was scraping at the ground, preparing to charge. "Here's an easier way to look at it." As he spoke, the boar charged, though he dodged easily. "Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit." The boar charged again, and instead of dodging he parried the blow, catching the boar's horns on his sword. "When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home!"

His words mad a lot of sense to me, and it seemed like they had a similar effect on the other swordsman. From where I was hiding in the bushes, I could see him look off to the side, probably thinking about what the other had said. "Eh… drive it home?" Suddenly, he gasped and got into a fighting stance, knees slightly bent and feet apart. I could tell that he had no prior training in combat, though I wasn't one to talk much. I had only had a few years of karate training, though I got pretty good before quitting to focus on school and studies. The red-haired man raised his sword over his shoulder and waited, just like the other had said. As expected, the sword blade started glowing a pale yellow. The color change was most likely a sign that a sword skill was prepared and ready for action.

Seeing that, the swordsman locked with the boar smiled and broke free from the boar, kicking it toward the other man. I caught myself holding my breath and leaning forward, trying to tell if the instructions would work. The red-haired man let out a yell and swung his sword, holding it straight in front of him and kicking off the ground. He moved at a speed that seemed impossible, slicing straight through the side of the boar. My eyes widened in surprise. So the sword skills really did work.

The boar, drained of its health, burst into blue polygons. A small screen popped up; from where I was crouching I couldn't read it, though it was most likely a list of experience, col, and items received from the fight. The red-haired swordsman looked over his shoulder, smiling in glee, before celebrating over his first victory. The black-haired swordsman watched with a small smile before saying, "Congratulations." He walked over to the other man and they slapped their palms together.

The beta tester swung his sword and sheathed it, saying "That was nice." As the other's smile grew bigger, he continued, "But that boar is about as weak as slimes in other games are." Upon hearing those words, the other's face fell immediately.

"Holy crap, you gotta be kiddin'!" His voice was raised in confusion, somewhat mirroring my own. The enemies really were dangerous here – the game wasn't playing around. You got good or you died, over and over again. I briefly wondered about the rules of respawning, but drove it from my mind. After all, I didn't plan on losing to a collection of ones and zeroes. "I thought that was a mid-level boss!"

The beta tester looked over to another field where more boars spawned in a glowing blue light before laughing slightly. "Yeah, as if." He looked lost in his own thoughts for a moment before looking around. As his gaze landed on my hiding spot, I shrank back into the cover of the bushes. I don't know why, but I didn't want him to know that I was there. It could be that I anticipated scorn from this beta tester who knew exactly how this game was played. His attention was recaptured by his friend trying out all kinds of manners of attacking.

After trying out another Sword Skill, the red-haired warrior let out a small cry of appreciation. The beta tester looked over, curious as to what he was doing. After seeing him staring at the blade, he said "Addictive, isn't it?"

"I'll say." The other man swung his sword, stabbing and lunging, trying out different motions. "So these skills, there's a ton of them like blacksmithing and stuff, right?" He spat out the last words through gritted teeth thanks to attacking. At least he knew to expel his air when striking in case someone broke through his guard.

The other man nodded. "Uh huh. I heard the game has an unlimited number of them. All except for magic, though." While he was speaking, the red-haired swordsman was flipping his sword around, deciding how he liked to hold the blade. After the beta tester finished speaking, the red-haired man charged up a Sword Skill. "An RPG without magic. That's a bold decision, man" he said as he unleashed the attack. After successfully attacking, he brought his hands up and celebrated, laughing joyfully to himself.

The black-haired swordsman watched the other with a smile. "So, what do you think? It's pretty fun to move your body as you fight, isn't it?" He was right – moving about in this game was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I could almost forget that it was a virtual game. The game automatically focused on whatever I looked at, to the point that it looked real.

The red-haired swordsman turned around with a smile. "Aw hells yeah!" The black-haired player smiled and nodded his head.

"You ready to move on?" he said.

"Yeah, man!" the other player replied. "Let's keep going!"

"Sure. There's some business I have to take care of first, though." For some reason, the black-haired player's words made my blood run cold. Had he discovered me? I didn't think he could have found me. I did know a few things from reading the articles talking about the game mechanics; I had tried to remain hidden by crouching in the bushes. I thought it would have been difficult to see me from there. As we both started off today with fresh characters, his beta testing wouldn't help - he didn't have access to the Searching Skill. The only possible way that he could know I was there was if he had seen me.

"I know you're there. There's no point in hiding."

Well crap. I backed out of the bushes and came around with my hands up. My dagger was clearly sheathed on my hip and so I obviously was no threat. I did my best to appear sheepish. I slightly regretted those extra inches – when the shoe was on the other foot it would be best to appear as non-threatening as possible. "Eheh…. Hello there."

"What the-" The other swordsman was shocked at my appearance. Apparently, he hadn't noticed anything. "Are you a PKer?" Suddenly, he had his sword out and threatening me.

"Whoa whoa whoa," I waved my hands frantically. "Nothing of the sort. I simply noticed you two training while I was out fighting."

The black-haired swordsman laughed. It didn't sound threatening, which made me feel slightly better. "I saw you back in the alley." That was strike two. One more and I would have been out.

"Alright, I give up." It was time to tell the truth. "The name is Rythin. I'm a complete newcomer to VR games and I guess I hoped you could help me out a bit."

The player threatening me sheathed his sword. "That's it? Man, you could have just asked. I'm Klein." He offered his hand, which I gladly shook. My distaste at personal contact was muted, possibly because of the twin factors of not being skewered and it being virtual reality. "This here's Kirito. He used to be a beta tester, can you believe it?"

I didn't have the heart to tell him I figured it out by watching the two. "Really? That's quite remarkable. My first day and I've met one of the lucky 1,000." I turned to Kirito. "I would have said something earlier, but I was slightly averse to mentioning my presence."

He waved off my spying on them. "I just hope what I said helped." His kind smile relaxed me from the scare I had earlier; I probably wouldn't be dying today. "So, what did you choose to start with?"

His question broke me from my thoughts. "A dagger." I unsheathed it and showed it to him. "I'm thinking of aiming for a more agile build." To be honest, that had been my aim from the beginning. I always liked the weaker classes that stayed away from main combat, for some reason; in regular games I tried to play the mage or the diplomat. I had a knack for understanding battle routines, so I usually stayed in the back. I wasn't entirely sure about this game yet, though; from what I'd seen the routines were a lot more complex.

Kirito grinned. "Well, since you've already come all the way out here, why don't you join up with us?"

That was a bit of a surprise. "You…you don't mind? Even after I watched you from the bushes?"

Klein jumped in. "Nah, man. I'd have done the same thing if I saw two guys fighting mobs."

Well then. "With an offer like that, how can I say no?" I joined up with the two friends. Kirito was very respectful, offering advice when we needed it. Turns out, daggers could be very useful when used properly. We fought various mobs for some time, leveling up as we went. The mob drop system filled my inventory with plenty of what appeared to be crafting materials, an assumption that was verified by Kirito.

As we fought and walked, I studied my two companions. Klein was relatively easy to read. Loud and boisterous, I could tell he gave his friendship openly and freely, though there were only a few that he supported without hesitation. Kirito was quickly on his way toward the latter group, and I was apparently part of the former. Not someone he'd buy lunch in the real world, but someone who he'd buy lunch for here.

Kirito, however... Kirito was hard to read. He had this slight smile on more or less the entire time we were fighting - something that would lead a person to believe he was more or less the same as Klein. However, there was something off about the smile; nothing I could guess at, but something I'd seen before. I'd seen it in my own mirror occasionally. I mentally assigned some sort of distaste for the Real World, though I couldn't be sure of the reason. On the surface, he seemed a friendly, helpful sort; at ease with the virtual reality we inhabited, though I attributed that to his beta testing experience. I must have been staring, because Kirito looked back at me and smiled. I was taken aback, though I returned his slightly tilted smile.

After a time, the sun started going down. This slightly surprised me, though in retrospect I shouldn't have been surprised. The world of Sword Art Online, Aincrad, mimicked the real world in every way down to the feel of the wind on my face. It would be no stretch of the imagination to believe that Kayaba could have programmed in a night-day cycle. It would be entirely possible for different species of monsters to come out at night, though I didn't intend on playing after a certain time. It did seem that my allotted time would stretch into the night, as the clock on the bottom of my user interface showed it was only 5:15. We stopped by the edge of one of the platforms stretching out over a field, Klein sitting on the grass.

His voice broke the comfortable silence. "When I look around, I can't believe it. We're inside a _game_, bro!" As incredulous as it was, it was the truth. Such amazing and beautiful graphics were only possible with the Full Dive technology recently developed. I took my time looking around, tuning out Klein's and Kirito's conversation. The scenery really was amazing; Kayaba had a great sense of aesthetics for a game designer. The warm golden color cast by the twilight sun stretched over us from all around, making Aincrad seem almost real somehow. The soft background music was orchestrated beautifully; I played the fiddle for a bit before giving it up. I had a good ear for music, and this was pleasing to the ears. It really was a world where you could just relax and enjoy yourself. In the distance was a flock of some sort of winged animal flying over what looked like a castle. Next to it was a calm pristine lake that led to a waterfall. Overall, a calm and relaxing effect that soothed my nerves after fighting for several hours. I closed my eyes and just drank in the feeling of the sun on my skin.

Standing up, Klein broke my half-trance. I blinked my eyes and mentally berated myself for lowering my guard. If I had been attacked from behind, I would have been easily taken. I turned to my comrades, joining the real world and paying attention to their conversation again.

"Hey… I was gonna go meet up with some people I know from another game," Klein said. "I don't know what you're up to after this, but if, you know, if you two want to friend them and hang with us…"

Kirito turned to Klein, somewhat shocked, while I considered the offer. True, it was better to start off with friends to party with, but joining an established circle? I would have felt excluded and left out due to their past experiences. Kirito turned away, his face shadowed. The smile I noticed on his face whenever he talked about SAO was gone.

Klein wasn't oblivious to his reaction, or mine, though he interpreted their meanings incorrectly. "N-no, it's cool if you don't want to. No pressure. I can always introduce you to them another time or something."

That was a bit of a relief. Klein wasn't hurt by my hesitance at meeting his friends – no small relief, as I had started to enjoy his exuberance slightly. I wouldn't want to alienate him so quickly. Kirito looked as relieved as I felt. "Yeah, sorry" he said as he looked down with that half-smile again. "Thanks anyway."

"No way! I should be the one doing all the thanking." Klein said. "Hey, one of these days, I promise I'm gonna pay you back for all your help. Virtually, that is."

I added my thanks as well. "Kirito, you helped me out a lot. I'd have been lost without you. Thanks."

Kirito looked shocked at our gratitude, though slightly happy. "Yeah, right." It was clear he didn't think he did anything worth gratitude for, though Klein and I knew the reality.

"Hey, thanks for everything man. Really." Klein's sincerity finally got through to Kirito, who reacted with a small gasp of surprise. Klein held out his hand. "Guess I'll see you around, then."

Kirito shook his hand. "If there's anything else you want to know, message me." It seemed Kirito enjoyed helping others, a trait I wouldn't have given him at first glance. He did take two new players under his wing and taught them the ropes, I guess, so it did make sense. He was similar to me, but with those few core differences that made him a better person.

Klein then held his hand out to me. "I had a good time fighting with you, Rythin. Take care, buddy." As I shook his hand, I got the impression of a strength behind the mind; this was a man that would fight fiercely for his friends.

Klein then grinned and turned to log out. As he lifted his hand to open the menu, I turned to Kirito. "Kirito, would you mind doing me the honor of being my first friend in this game?" He looked surprised, letting out a small noncommittal sound. "I don't mind you turning me down, but – "

He interrupted me before I could finish. "N-no, of course I don't mind." He swiped open his menu and quickly navigated to the friends list. He tapped a few buttons and a pop-up appeared in front of me requesting my acceptance of a friend request. I smiled and tapped the blue button; that confirmed the request and added Kirito to my friends list. I looked up to see Kirito smiling without that twist for the first time.

"Huh?" Klein's unexpected voice surprised both of us. We turned to him as he continued, "Where'd the log out button go?" I was confused. It should be in the options menu at the very bottom.

"It should be there," Kirito said.

"Hmm…. No, it's not there" Klein said. Kirito and I walked over to his avatar, looking confused. We swiped open our menus and navigated to the main menu, searching for the button.

"Eh?" "Wha…?" We both made a similar noise when we discovered that our logout buttons were missing as well. The other two selections, Option and Help, were there, but the Log Out option just didn't exist.

"See, it's not there!"

Kirito was confused. "You're right, it's not."

Klein turned to us, and said in a slightly more upbeat voice, "Oh well. It's the first day outta beta; there's bound to be some bugs." He laughed. "I bet the server people are freaking out right now."

Kirito pointed to the clock at the top of his status screen showing his equipment. "You will too. Look, it's 5:25."

Upon hearing the time, Klein's face was hilarious. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. He clutched his head in his hands, saying "Oh my god, my Teriyaki Mail pizza and Ginger Ale!" He continued to freak out; I gathered that he had ordered a pizza to be delivered at his address soon.

Kirito snapped him out of it with his calm words. "Why don't you just contact the game master?" Immediately, Klein stopped.

"Eh? Yeah, I did that, but nothing's happening; he's not picking up." Klein looked at Kirito, hope in his eyes. "Do you know if there's another way to log out of this thing?"

Kirito looked aside, and when he looked back his face was the most serious I had seen it. "No. There's no other way." He looked into the distance, past Klein. "Whenever a player wants to log out of SAO, the only way they can do it is by going through the menu."

"That can't be right," said Klein. He tried a variety of different methods including striking poses and shouting. Nothing happened, and suddenly the beautiful world seemed much more dangerous and imposing than before.

"Told you so," said Kirito. He looked upset, but continued. "And there was no emergency exit in the manual, either."

"No way," Klein whispered, totally stunned.

I decided to enter the discussion. "Is it possible to just remove the NerveGear? That would break the connection and force him to log out."

Klein tried to do so, grabbing at his head and pulling. Kirito shook his head, still not breaking his dead expression. "Don't bother. Once you're hooked in, you can't move your body in the real world anymore." His stunned and blank face started to frighten me. "The NerveGear intercepts all the commands you give from inside the game using an interface built into the rig."

I shook my head. "The lack of a way to log out seems to be a rather large oversight."

Klein looked totally shocked. "Seriously? So now we gotta wait until someone gets to fixing the bug."

Kirito still hadn't changed his expression in some time. "That, or wait until someone in the real world comes along and takes the NerveGear off us. That's it." At his words, I felt chills. My parents were coming back at 7:00, so I had a way to get out at some point. They'd be concerned when I didn't acknowledge their returning home and come look for me. I told them I'd probably be playing until 7:00, but after an hour they would disconnect me in anger. I wondered if Kirito and Klein had a similar way of logging out, though Klein's next words confirmed that he didn't.

"Well, I live alone. You two?"

"I've got parents that will be back in a few hours, so I think I'll be fine."

"I've got a mom and a sister, and I'm pretty sure they'll notice by dinnertime, but – " The rest of Kirito's words were lost as Klein rushed over and grabbed his shoulders. His face was almost comical, and I'd laugh if I wasn't so concerned about not being able to log out. As it was, I was too concerned to be amused.

"You- you got a sister? How old is she, what's she like?" I couldn't be sure if he was questioning out of desperation or desire.

For the first time after learning that we couldn't log out, Kirito's expression changed. He was surprised and taken aback, his right foot half lifted off the ground. "Uh….she's into sports and hates games and is totally not your type, man!" Klein kept pressuring him, walking closer and forcing Kirito to keep stepping back. Their faces were getting more and more extreme, and despite myself I couldn't help but smile and start to laugh. "She wouldn't date a gamer if he's the last guy –"

Klein interrupted him "Who cares! I wanna –" Only for him to be interrupted in turn, as Kirito's knee slammed into his groin. I winced in shared pain, only to laugh even harder. Klein flew backwards, tears streaming from his eyes, and landed on his rear in the grass. He squirmed in imagined pain, before he stopped and said "Oh yeah, gettin' kneed in the balls doesn't hurt."

I looked at Kirito, though he had already gotten over the incident. He looked as lost as before as he said, "Get serious. Don't you think this is weird?"

As I was thinking the same thing, I nodded. "This issue will hopefully be solved soon. I ate at noon, though that was five hours ago. I don't think I'll be too hungry, but I'd rather not be stuck here indefinitely."

Klein nodded. "Yeah, totally. But it's just a bug, right?" I wasn't so sure. Something just felt off.

Apparently, Kirito had that same sense of something being subtly wrong. "This isn't just a bug. If we can't log out, it's going to cause some serious problems for the game." His logic made sense.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Klein.

Kirito looked off into the distance, toward the edge of Aincrad. "I wonder if the developers even know what's happening, because they could shut down the server and log everyone out." His eyes narrowed as he delved deeper into his thoughts. "But why haven't they made an announcement?" Klein and I looked at him, then sighed and went to our own thoughts.

Suddenly, those thoughts were scattered by the loud, deep rumbling of a bell. We all looked to the source of the sound, unconsciously drawing in breath, as the bell rang throughout the server. We remained motionless, unsure of what to do. I heard Kirito trembling slightly, though I labeled that as a result of his battle nerves tightening. Suddenly, everything faded to white.

When our vision cleared, the three of us were standing in the spawn area – we had been teleported there by an unknown person. We looked around, confused, as hundreds of other players were teleported in around us. The bell was still ringing while people were teleported in.

As the blue lights stopped, so did the bell. "Someone forced a teleport," whispered Kirito. I hadn't even known that was a function of this game. The murmurs of the crowd where getting louder and louder in everyone's confusion.

Suddenly, someone shouted "Look up there!" Looking up, I saw a flashing red hexagon. I looked over to Kirito, wondering if it was some event from the start of the game. Unfortunately, he was staring at the sky looking as confused as the rest of the players. I heard him mutter something about a System Announcement, but before I could ask him what he was talking about, the sky suddenly changed.

The red hexagon quickly spread out, covering the entire sky. The hexagons said 'WARNING' and "System Announcement' interchangeably, and I relaxed somewhat. While I was still worried about the sudden teleport, a system announcement could only be one thing; to tell us about the bug and tell us not to worry.

Some viscous liquid starting seeping through the cracks between hexagons, pooling in midair. I was slightly disturbed by its appearance similar to blood. Klein echoed my thoughts exactly. "What the hell is that thing?" he asked in an incredulous tone of voice. Soon, the pool of red liquid formed into a giant robed figue; I couldn't see the face. Dark smoke emanated from its hood, and I unconsciously backed away, stopping when I bumped into Kirito. I heard other players questioning the turn of events in confusion.

The hooded figure spread its arms wide and spoke. "Attention players." Its voice was loud and majestic, befitting the size of the figure. I assumed it was the GM talking to the concerned players. "I welcome you to my world."

Confusion set in quickly. "What's he mean by that?" Kirito asked. I was unsure, but a sinking pit in my stomach told me that this was the creator of the game, Akihiko Kayaba.

The figure's next words confirmed my suspicions. "My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world." Everyone assembled let out a gasp of shock, and I noticed Kirito's face turned white. I'm certain he had read about Kayaba, just as I had. "I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus – the log out buttons." My shoulders relaxed slightly, hoping to hear him say something along the lines of 'This is being addressed' or 'I will log you out now and we will restart servers when the issue is fixed.'

His next words, however, crushed that small bit of hope. Kayaba's large figure open up its menu screen as it spoke, "Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."

I felt as if my entire body had turned to ice. I couldn't move or feel anything. Hearing those words was such a shock to my system that I only stayed upright because of automatic reactions; I could not have done anything on purpose to save my life. Klein's jaw had dropped. "He's kidding, right?" Several other players echoed his question, although I didn't see them.

My eyes were still stuck staring at the GM as he continued. "You cannot log yourselves out of SAO. And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head." There went the only option we had left. My mind seemed to be running in circles, never being able to break out of the loop of despair. "If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life." His calm manner of speaking was entirely dissonant to the words he said. He would speak about a small animal eating food the same way he talked about killing us. The man was clearly a psychopath.

The reaction to this announcement ranged from terror to indignation to confusion. Several people tried to leave via the passages on the edge of the clearing, only to find that we had been sealed in by a barrier. Klein scoffed. "Hey, are you listening to this crap? He's gotta be nuts, right? Right, Kirito?"

I can't blame him for trying to get reassurance, but I would have preferred not to hear Kirito's next words. "He's not. The transmitter signals in the head gear work just like a microwave. If the safety's disabled, it could fry your brain." The chill in my veins still wouldn't allow me to move, though it seemed to be sinking deeper into my body. I couldn't feel still, but I had enough range of movement to turn to Kirito.

"Is there some way to cut the power? No, wait." I had just remembered something I saw in the top right of the screen as I waited to dive into SAO; a battery symbol.

Kirito nodded. "The NerveGear's got an internal battery."

Klein looked as pale as death. "No way… this is crazy! This is totally crazy!"

Kayaba continued speaking. "Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have tried removing the NerveGear. An unfortunate decision, to say the least." I didn't want to hear what he said next, but his calm voice continued speaking with no way to stop listening. "As a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."

I gasped. "213? That many?"

Klein shook his head. "No way… I don't believe it!"

As if hearing his words, screens appeared and started circling the GM. "As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths." I stared at the screens, searching for a familiar space, and found none, fortunately. "At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best." I had a brief terrifying image of my parents trying to remove the hardware on my head, an attempt that resulted in my brain turning into cooked meat, and my blood turned even colder. The inner ice solidified around my heart, chilling me to the bone. I could move perfectly well, but there was no need to do so. Kayaba continued, "I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game."

This was the first I had heard of clearing the game. To do so, theoretically, would be to climb through every floor and kill all the enemies. Seeing how tough those boars were, I could not possibly believe it would be successful. I listened to Kayaba's words as he continued. "It's important to remember the following: there is no longer any way to revive someone within the game; if your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system… forever." I glanced at Kirito; he was glaring angrily at the hooded figure. "And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

Kirito gasped; I didn't do the same only because of the ice around my heart and lungs. I couldn't breathe; all I could see was an enemy striking me when my guard was down and bringing my HP to zero. I would never see my cat or my parents again. I would be gone without a trace.

I felt, rather than heard or saw, Kirito clench his fist. As I was chilled by ice, it was as if he was surrounded by a burning fire, consuming all but the desire to win. I expected Kayaba's next words, "There is only one way for a player to escape now; you must clear the game." He pressed a button, and a holographic image appeared with a red dot on the bottom. "Right now, you're gathered on floor one, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor." The holographic image flushed red from bottom to top. "Defeat the boss on floor 100, and you will clear the game."

Everyone was stunned and confused. Cries of "how can we believe you" and "what does he mean" rang out. Klein whispered, "We can't clear all 100 floors. That's freaking impossible. Even the beta testers never made it that far!" He had a point; in all the articles I read, none mentioned any floors higher than eight.

Silencing all muttering, Kayaba raised his hand. "Last, but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of each player. Please, have a look." I furrowed my brow, confused, but opened up my inventory anyway. Inside was a single item, a Hand Mirror. I pulled it out, and it was just a mirror. It reflected my image.

From the corner of my vision, I saw a white glow surround Klein. Before I could do much more than call out, my own mirror emitted a white glow that surrounded me. When the white glow disappeared, there didn't seem to be any difference. For some reason, though, I felt shorter. I turned to Klein and Kirito. "Are you two alright? Wait…" They looked different. Klein's hair didn't fall as neatly as before, and it was a deeper shade of red. Kirito was shorter, with a more youthful face; his hair was the same color, though it was shorter. As the two looked at each other in confusion, I looked back at the mirror. My own face stared back at me. I felt shorter because I was shorter – the mirror had somehow restored my actual face.

"Is that you, Klein?"

"Is that you, Kirito?"

I felt somewhat left out, though it was nothing new. In fact, I smiled slightly at their actions.

"But how?" asked Klein.

Kirito thought for a second before realizing. "The scan. There's a high density signal device inside the NerveGear rig. It can see what my face looks like. But how's it know my height and body type?" I tuned out Klein's explanation, as I figured it out for myself. The calibrations in the NerveGear's initialization must have been a sham to get my physical data. Ingenious, actually. Kayaba was more of a genius than anyone realized.

Klein put his hands to his head. "But – this is – What's the point? Why would anyone do this to us?" Before I could hazard a guess, Kirito raised his hand.

"I think he's about to tell us."

"Right now, you're probably wondering, 'Why?' 'Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, do this?' Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design." The man was insane. That had to be the only explanation; he had no possible idea what he was doing.

Kirito narrowed his eyes and growled, "Kayaba…" The fire surrounding him was blazing hotter, though it was centering around his body. If I had to guess, I was imagining his fighting spirit and determination to be the strongest.

Kayaba continued. "As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." The image of the GM seemed to corrupt and dissolve into smoke. Any remnants of that strange red liquid were quickly reabsorbed into the cracks of the red hexagons, leaving the sky clear.

Everyone was silent and motionless, stunned into silence by the ultimatum delivered by the creator of the game we were playing. No, not game; it was a new reality. I was trapped in this game by a brilliant madman, and to escape I had to fight my way out. The ice in my core solidified and no longer seemed cold; I merely felt the need to escape. Beside me, the fire in Kirito blazed brighter than ever; if I had to guess, I would say that he reaffirmed his decision to fight his way through all the floors and defeat the boss.

From what I had read of Kayaba, his words were the truth. He wouldn't lie about this, especially since he worked so hard for so long to create this world. The death of Rythin would mean the death of my real body, and I couldn't let that happen.

In the crowd, a mirror shattered. A girl screamed, and general panic set in. People rushed forward, trying to escape the mad man's twisted game. This dream had become a nightmare. Many players just collapsed, unable to bear the thought of dying. Near the exits, a nearly imperceptible glimmer meant that the barriers blocking exit had lifted; beside me, Kirito stiffened. He had noticed it as well.

He leaned over to Klein and whispered "C'mon, Klein." Grabbing his hand, Kirito raced for the nearest exit, I being hot on his heels. Once in an alley and away from the prying eyes of others, he stopped.

"Okay, listen. I'm heading out right now for the next village. I want you two to come." I was somewhat surprised at Kirito's statement; apparently, I was a close enough friend that he would help me succeed in the game and stay alive.

Dumbfounded, Klein could only make a questioning sound. Kirito took this as a cue to continue, "If what he said was true, and I think it is, the only way we're going to survive in here is by making ourselves as strong as possible." He pulled up a map of the first floor; we were blinking in a red area, which most likely denoted a town. "In an MMORPG, the money you can earn, the EXP, once the game starts up there's only so much of that stuff to go around. Look, the fields around the Town of Beginnings will be hunted clean soon. If we head to the next village now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points." He looked up at us. "Don't worry, I know all the paths and places we should avoid. Even if we're level 1, I can get us there easy." The plan seemed sound and logical; I had no other contacts or friends in this world, and sticking close to Kirito seemed the best plan. I silently moved to his side, smiling and nodding my thanks.

Unfortunately, Klein was not as free as I was. "Uehh… thanks, but you know those friends of mine I was telling you about? We stood in line for a whole night to buy this…" He smiled sadly. "They're back there, in the plaza. And I can't leave them." His position was understandable. If I had close friends I had played with previously in this death game, I would prefer to stay with them instead of a person I just met.

Kirito inclined his head, thinking. I wondered what he was thinking; probably nothing good. I hazarded a guess that he couldn't actually handle two extra players slowing him down, and I mentally apologized to Klein for feeling relieved by that guess.

"Sorry." Upon hearing Klein's voice, both of us jerked out of our thoughts. "Can't ask a guy I just met to risk his life for a bunch of strangers, can I? So don't worry about me, get your asses to the next village." He smiled, and pointed his thumb at himself. "I'll be fine! In the last game I played, I ran a guild so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you taught me, I'll get by, no sweat."

Kirito nodded. "Okay. If that's what you want, I'll get going." I could hear the hurt in his voice, though I'm sure he tried to hide it. No one likes being turned down, and I'm sure that Kirito felt guilty about leaving our friend behind to fend for himself. "But if you're in a jam, message me, okay? I'll be seeing you, Klein. Take care." We turned and started running down the dark alleyway, trying to get out of the city.

"Kirito! Rythin!" The sound of Klein's voice stopped us in our tracks. I turned to see what he wanted, but he didn't say anything more than "I…" I gave him a small smile and a wave and we started walking down. He stopped us again. "Hey, Kirito? Uh… you look better like this. Way cooler than your avatar. You too, Rythin."

Kirito turned around, smiling. "Yeah, and I think that scruffy face fits you ten times better too." Without another word, he turned and ran down the alleyway. Before I left him, I smiled and said, "Be seeing you, Klein. Don't die on us, okay?" He laughed and walked away. As I turned, Kirito stopped running and turned back. It was possible he felt guilty and wanted to go talk to Klein more, apologize for running off; but Klein was gone. He stared, eyes shining, at the empty entrance to the street. Suddenly, he took off, running. I felt a strange emptiness inside myself as well; even though we had become friends and I could message him whenever I needed, Klein's absence just drove the point home that this world was cruel and unforgiving. I turned and raced to catch up to Kirito myself, activating my Sprint skill to catch up. We ran through the empty streets and out into the fields, not stopping to buy supplies or items. As we ran, I found myself trying hard to catch up to Kirito, who ran like a man trying to outrun memories. Two wolves spawned in front of us. Without stopping, Kirito drew his sword and I my dagger. We charged a Sword Skill, and with a yell stepped off the ground, unleashing the power of the swords. We sliced through the beasts, which evaporated into blue polygons behind us. Beside me, Kirito screamed a challenge to the heavens, a proof of his inner fire. Unlike him, the ice within me would not let me unleash my feelings in such a way. I would not die to this crazy death game. I would survive and become strong. I would not be beaten.

I would win.

* * *

**Thanks for reading my story. It would mean a lot to me if you could leave a review, whether positive, negative, mixed, or dumb.  
A few things I want to clear up about this story:**

**1) Yes, this is technically a self-insert story. However, I believe they can be written well. I will (hopefully) not be falling into any of the traps of the genre, like Gary Stu-ing my way through the story.**

**2) Canon comes first over all. Technically I've already broken that by inserting another player, but I'm discussing things like character death and relationships. That means no "Kirito isn't the Dual Blades user" or "Asuna loves my character instead of Kirito". That's dumb and I hate it.**

**3) As it is a self-insert, I did model the character Rythin and his player off of me. I had my appearance in mind as I wrote the story, and thought about how I'd react to being trapped in a VR death game. I did try to emphasize and exaggerate my traits somewhat, though that's more for narrative flow. I exaggerated both my positive and negative traits, so hopefully I won't fall into the "My character is 1000x better than canon characters and flawless" trap.**

**4) This story is written in first person. This does mean that there will be a lot of introspection; this is increased due to Rythin's habit of thinking things over before speaking.**

**5) This particular story will go until the end of the Aincrad arc.**

**6) There won't be any of those arrow things, mainly because (a) I don't like them and (b) I've only seen the anime, where those guys don't exist.**

**That should be everything I need to address! Thanks for reading this far, it really does mean a lot. I had fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading it.**


	2. December 2nd, 2022

**Chapter 2**

* * *

**December 2nd, 2022**

It had been almost a month since the beginning of our imprisonment in this deathtrap. From what I had heard through word of mouth and information brokers, almost 2,000 people had died from various causes ranging from inexperience to suicide. Things looked bleak; already 20% of the players were dead and the boss of the first floor hadn't been found, let alone defeated, yet. I could tell that Kirito was angry with himself for not being able to find the boss – he had said that he intended to clear floor 8 by the end of the first month, though that plan apparently had been torpedoed as soon as we realized it was our lives on the line. The latest movement was to grind like mad until the player levels were at least five or six higher than the floor boss.

The existence of quests helped out the grinding an immense amount. These quests offered large amounts of col and experience in exchange for the completion of a mission. Occasionally, the quest would reward a player with a rare and powerful item. Being a beta tester, Kirito knew which quests gave out the best rewards for the minimal amount of danger; after we made it safely to the next village, he directed us toward the quests that would shower us with experience and col. I managed to get some better gear than the starting set – thinking about it, anything would have been better than the starting set. Kirito scored an Anneal Blade, a long heavy straight sword. It fit his fighting style well; I assumed he had completed the quest before in the beta.

The perk of his sword was that it had eight upgrade possibilities. Normal weapons, like my dagger, ranged from three to five chances to upgrade. If he were lucky, he would have a +8 weapon – a huge boon to his survival chances. At the moment, we had upgraded our gear to the maximum 'safe' limit of +4. Any further and there was a chance that a failed upgrade would not only lose the chance but decrease the parameter of the weapon, lowering it permanently. With an NPC blacksmith, the first four upgrades were more or less guaranteed. After those four, the chance of a failure rose drastically. Kirito decided – and I agreed – to not take chances with the equipment that would keep us alive.

We were standing in a town by the name of Tolbana. It was pleasant enough, with shopkeepers displaying their wares alongside the street. Kirito lounged on the wall near a fountain, while I lay down in the grass. It felt cool against my skin. We were in the town for a large meeting called by a player by the name of Diabel. He claimed he had information on the first floor boss; we couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn what he had to say.

I relaxed on my back, eyes closed, enjoying the sun. The day was nice; for December, the air was still warm. I wondered if it ever snowed here. Probably not on this floor, a floor designed to be warm and inviting, but there was the chance I could still see snow.

"Hello boys! Fancy seeing you here." The cheery voice could only belong to one person. I propped myself up and cracked open my eyes to confirm the identity of the player. Sure enough, it was Argo, one of Kirito's three friends on his friend list. Called 'The Rat' by most players, she specialized in buying and selling information. I guessed that she was a beta tester just like Kirito; that was the only way she would know some of the details. I sighed and dropped back to the grass.

Kirito, however, was much more polite. "Hello, Argo." She had visited the two of us before with a message for Kirito: someone was willing to buy his Anneal Blade for an outrageous amount of col. The first time she delivered the offer, I felt that something was off. I caught Kirito's eye and shook my head slightly; taking the hint, he turned down the offer. I assumed that her seeking us out meant she had another offer to deliver.

Sure enough, she didn't disappoint. "Hey, you know that offer someone made for your sword? Well, the player who wanted it has raised the price." She then quoted a price that made me open my eyes – it was nearly double the original offer. Someone wanted that sword particularly badly, but why? There were other swords available – not on the level that Kirito's sword was, but they were able to get close with far less cost.

Kirito was equally as surprised. "Uwah? That's… that's a lot." He stared at Argo as if expecting her to laugh and claim it was a joke. When she didn't, he looked at me. "Rythin, what do you think?"

Ignoring Argo's sigh of impatience – she wasn't my biggest fan, thanks to my not being a beta tester – I sat up and thought. Someone definitely wanted this particular sword, and they were determined to get it. It was entirely possible that the player offering the money just wanted a good sword, but that same sense of something subtly wrong was still there. I shook my head. "I wouldn't just yet. If the meeting has any useful information on the whereabouts of the floor boss, we'll need our full power to defeat it. Losing a powerful sword would only hinder our ability to fight and survive."

Kirito nodded. What I said must have been along the same lines as his reasoning. "Yeah…" He turned to Argo. "Sorry, but tell your client that the sword isn't for sale right now." A wise move. He included the possibility of selling it in the future, something that would sift out any attempt to cripple his ability to survive. If the person offering just wanted a good sword, they'll keep asking after the boss was cleared.

Argo left after receiving Kirito's decline of the offer. I briefly wondered how she got the marks on her face and resolved to bring up the issues with Kirito later. He might know something about it. I sank back down to the ground, intent on finishing my relaxing, but Kirito stood and shook my shoulder. "Hey, c'mon. The meeting is soon." Ugh.

"Egh… five more minutes?" It was worth a try, though I didn't actually expect it to work. When Kirito simply laughed and shook his head, I sighed and stood. Stretching, I said, "So where is the meeting?"

"In the town center. It's this way." He started off toward our destination. Groaning, I caught up to him. We walked calmly but with purpose, ignoring the NPCs hawking their wares. As we walked, I watched his face. While we were adventuring together, he had become a little more open, at least in my case. We talked about the outside world as little as possible; this world was quickly becoming home and as real as the outside world. There were days where I'd go through it, not realizing I was in VR until late at night. I suppose it was a type of managing the trauma of being trapped. Kirito accepted our new reality as quickly as I did, if not faster. He was always so closed until we got into combat. When he held his one-handed sword, it was as if he became a different person. His eyes blazed with combat readiness, and he held the sword as if it was a part of his arm. In my case, I was still awkward with my dagger. I rarely fought a mob head on; I kept agile and moved constantly, letting Kirito draw the focus while I studied the mob. My knack of picking up battle routines seemed to have transferred over, though the reality of this world meant it took longer than before. After fighting several of the same enemy, I could pick up on the patterns of their attacks.

"Hey, Rythin, snap out of it. We're here." Kirito's words jolted me out of my trance; while lost in my thoughts, I followed him automatically. I could afford to get complacent in towns, as they were safe zones, but in the field I relied on him to keep on guard if I had to focus on some errant train of thought. Shaking my head to clear the last remnants of my thoughts, I refocused on the sight in front of us. Several players were sitting on the steps in what appeared to be an amphitheater. Kirito and I took seats near the top, in the empty seats. I looked around, curious as to the collection of players – it seemed smaller than I expected for some reason. The only people who had shown up were stronger players, those willing to put their life on the line to escape. My wandering attention was recaptured by a man striding onto the stage. He clapped his hands to gather attention, and began speaking.

"Okay, people. Now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started." He had blue hair, an anomaly in this game, as well as a sword slung on his hip. He seemed open and friendly enough, and confident speaking in front of a public audience. Kirito and I watched him intently, waiting to see what would happen. "So anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diabel, and in this game," he thumped his chest, "the job I rolled is knight."

I snickered. The intended icebreaker seemed to have worked, as other players were chuckling and teasing Diabel. I looked over to Kirito, who was smiling as well. Diabel continued speaking, "You guys wanna hear this or not?" As the jeering died down, he suddenly became serious. "Right, here's the deal. My party found the boss room at the top of the tower today." Incredulous gasps filled the air, only to be halted by his raised hand. "First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to floor two. The next step is, we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game!" His voice was strong and confident. I could tell he would be a good leader. He took charge and took ownership – I hadn't missed his use of 'my party'. He was obviously used to being in charge, and more power to him. I didn't like the pressure of making decisions, or having retribution fall on me. Diabel clenched his fist. "Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here. Do you agree, or not?"

Murmurs filled the air as the assembled players discussed the new revelations. Kirito and I glanced at each other and nodded; we would be there to fight alongside Diabel. Someone in the crowd started clapping, and the applause quickly spread. Kirito was smiling; I could only assume he was happy at progress being made. "Okay!" said Diabel, "Glad to hear you're all with me on this. Now, let's figure out how we're going to beat the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six." Upon hearing this, both Kirito and I choked. The two of us could form a party, but we'd need at least one other person to deal damage. With his skills, Kirito could account for three players, but I was more or less dead weight. We looked around in panic as Diabel continued. "A typical party doesn't stand a chance against a floor boss. We need a raid group made up of multiple parties." All the other players had already formed up in groups of six. As two solo players, we didn't need anyone else to make it this far, but that meant we had no other people to party with. Kirito looked desperately for a group with an opening, and stopped when his gaze landed on another solo. I followed his line of sight to see another player in a red hood sitting alone. They hadn't moved from their spot; I hadn't even noticed them sitting down. Kirito rushed over, I following at a slightly more leisurely pace.

Kirito tried to break the ice. "You got left out too, huh?"

"Not even. I wasn't left out. It's just, everyone seems like they're already friends." Her chill voice was no-nonsense.

I spoke up. "So you're solo too, I see. Would you like to join us? We are in need of other members in our party." The hooded girl turned to look at us; without seeing her face or eyes, I couldn't tell if she was shocked, angry, or crying.

Kirito continued. "You heard what the guy just said; we can't beat the boss on our own. And it would only be for this fight." What little I could see of the girl's face was impassive, and I started to stand up and leave. From behind me, I heard the rustling of cloth, and I turned around. Kirito had opened his menu, and was selecting her name to form a party. He then sent me the invite to join the party, which I accepted. I looked at the display near my health bar; underneath my health bar was two smaller bars. One was labeled Kirito and the other Asuna. Asuna, I thought, was a nice name.

"All right!" Diabel cried out, "Looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then, let's – "

He was interrupted by someone shouting from the top of the amphitheater. "Hold up a sec!" He ran and jumped over multiple rows, landing in front of the assembled players. He had a strange hairstyle, spike and pointed only in a few places. He looked somewhat like a mace available for purchase. As that thought hit me, I laughed under my breath, causing Kirito and Asuna to give me weird looks. I shook my head, declining to share the joke, and they turned back to the front. The hedgehog-looking player stood up and gestured to himself. "My name's Kibaou, you got that?" From where I was sitting, I couldn't see Kirito's face, but I assumed he was watching, interested. "Before we take on the boss, I want to get something off my chest. We all know about the 2,000 people who died so far, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!" He pointed a finger at the audience. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was referring to; the beta testers. He seemed to believe that the beta testers were somehow at fault for the other players' deaths. Kirito suddenly sucked air in and grew stiff; I could tell he had reached the same conclusion I had.

Diabel spoke up for the first time since Kibaou interrupted him. "Kibaou, I think I know who you're referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?"

Kibaou stepped toward him. "Of course I mean them! The day this stupid-ass game started, the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners." This wasn't true, as Kirito helped me survive, but I'm certain had I not been there he would have left by himself. It's entirely possible that other beta testers left by themselves and charged off, like we did. "They snagged all the good hunting spots, and they grabbed all the easy quests too. They were the only ones getting stronger in here." His words were hitting uncomfortably close to home – we did get good hunting spots and easy quests. "This whole time, they've ignored us like we're nothing." Kibaou snarled, getting worked up again. He clenched a fist and shook it at the audience. "Hell, I bet there's some of them here! Come on out, beta testers!" He started getting more and more animated as his voice grew louder and louder. "We should make 'em apologize to us. And we should make 'em give up their money AND the items they got." Something about that struck me as familiar, but I ignored the nagging feeling. There was time to deal with that later. "They can't expect the party to trust 'em when they don't trust us. Why should we?" I could see Kirito was very affected by Kibaou's hateful words; they were close to the truth, though I trusted him. I placed my hand on his trembling shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked at my hand, startled, and gave me a quick grin. It was weak, but it was there.

"Can I say something?" The unexpected voice cut through the murmuring of the assembled players. It was deep and confidant. A man stood up in front of us; he wore a large axe on his back, and by the look of his muscles could swing it with ease. As he walked to the speaking floor, Kibaou's face grew more and more alarmed. It was clear the man towered over him – he was six feet easily. "Hey. My name's Agil. Kibaou, right?" His voice was smooth and strong, a strange counterpoint to Kibaou's frantic, weaker voice. "I wanna make sure I'm on the same page. You say the beta testers should be blamed for the rookie's deaths because they didn't help, and you want them to apologize and give up their winnings. I leave anything out?"

"No, you didn't." Kibaou's voice was tenser and antagonistic; he felt threatened by Agil. A good feeling, as Agil could wipe the floor with Kibaou at any given moment.

Agil pulled out a small brown book. "The item store hands these out for free. It's a guide book. You got one, didn't you?" I recognized the book. I had picked one up in the second village.

"Sure I got one. So what about it?"

"You know who was handing these out? The beta testers." As murmurs swept through the crowd, I nodded. Argo had written the guidebook, using her knowledge and skill as an information gatherer to fill it with all kinds of useful information. I had used it occasionally to brush up on various dagger skills, as Kirito had exclusively used the one-handed long sword. Ignoring Kibaou's glaring face, Agil turned around. "Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information." He said, slapping the book. "Even so, lots of players still died. Now, I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here because I want to learn from those player's deaths. I'm here because I wanna find out how we're going to beat the boss." Agil's words had a calming effect on Kirito, though Asuna was motionless as always. I sighed in relief as the tense atmosphere weakened; there was little chance that Kirito or I would be in danger. Agil looked over his shoulder at Kibaou, who grunted and stormed off to take a seat. Agil sat down as well, giving the floor back to Diabel.

"Okay, can we get back to the meeting now? For info on the boss, it's all in here. The latest version of the guide book you just heard about." That was a surprise. I didn't realize that Argo had released a new version of the guide book, and I resolved to pick one up after the meeting. "According to the book, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels." The flood of information came quickly, causing rumors at how the guide book knew this. "Illfang carries an axe and a buckler; he has four health bars, and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a talwar. He can change his patterns of attack, too." That was new and disturbing. If I couldn't predict the attack patterns, I was more or less useless in a fight. I was fast, but that was my only other strength. Changing patterns would mean an entire new set of sword skills to guess at, and that could only lead to danger for everyone involved. Diabel, ignoring the incredulous whispers between the players, closed the guide book. "That's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone; the party that defeats the boss gets the XP; and, whoever gets an item, gets to keep it." The terms were fair, as there would be no arguments over a drop or experience. I found myself nodding, as Diabel was a good leader. "Any objections?" There were none. "Good. We leave tomorrow at 10:00 in the morning. Meeting adjourned, people."

I stood up, groaning. "Ugh, there goes my chance to sleep in. Kirito, wake me up if I'm not up, okay?" I thought Asuna had smiled slightly.

Kirito grinned. "You know there's an alarm you can set, right?"

I shook my head – I had completely forgotten about the existence of that particular function because I never used it. "Huh." Kirito and I looked down at the floor of the amphitheater, where Kibaou was apologizing to Diabel for interrupting. The two seemed to be getting along well, as Diabel forgave the other man. A rustling of cloth caught our attention, and we looked at the source of the sound to see Asuna leaving the seats without saying a word. "Friendly, isn't she?" I looked back down at the group at the floor to see Diabel staring at me and Kirito, intently studying us. Unnerved, I shook Kirito's shoulder. "C'mon, let's go. I think we have some time before the NPCs close up shop for the day."

We left the amphitheater to go do routine shopping. I refilled my supply of healing potions while Kirito went to upgrade his Anneal Blade. I returned to our arranged meeting place to find him there in conversation with Kibaou himself. I hung back, just out of sight, in order to listen in on the discussion. Kibaou was discussing the Anneal Blade that Kirito was wearing over his shoulder. Apparently, Kirito had managed to upgrade his sword to +6, a feat which was impressive.

The next thing Kibaou said made my blood run cold. "So hey, I'll buy that sword off your hand for 39,800 Col." Those words triggered that uneasy feeling I had before; Kibaou had demanded that the beta testers give up their equipment as retribution; it was highly possible he was the person trying to buy the sword through Argo. I sent a quick message to Argo asking her to meet me by the fountain. I walked off toward the meeting place, trusting Kirito to do the intelligent thing and refuse the offer. I returned to my original position of lounging on the grass, waiting for Argo to show up. I knew she would, after all; it's not every day that someone connected to Kirito wanted her help. I closed my eyes to concentrate on my musings.

"Hey, lazybones! Wake up!" Argo's voice next to my ear jolted me awake – I had fallen asleep. I sat up groggily, rubbing at my eyes and mentally berating myself for my lapse of attention. "What'd ya want me for?"

"I need to know who wanted Kirito's sword." It was out there. I figured she'd charge some sort of price for the information; that's what information brokers do.

"Hmm…I don't know, that's some pricey information…"

"I'll pay anything it takes. I need to confirm my suspicions."

That last bit might have been a mistake. Argo pounced on that line like a rat on cheese – an apt description, given her nickname. "Oh….aaaaanything?" Her tone insinuated something prevented by the Ethics Option.

"Well, not really anything. I'm rather attached to my right pinkie. Other than that, it's all good." When I get stressed or harassed, I take refuge in my wordplay.

Argo seemed to appreciate it. "Ah well. Since I can't ask for my usual fee, I'll just take 1,523 Col." I winced. That was quite a bit of Col, and in fact the amount I had set aside for her fee. Kirito and I had dealt with her before; the amount was her standard fee. I was hoping it would be less, but I would take what I could get.

"You drive a hard bargain." I transferred the Col to her account. "So what can you tell me?"

Argo grinned. "You heard about spiky-hair at the meeting today, right?"

"I was there. I might have noticed him jumping over some seats, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Well, he's the one that wants Kirito's sword."

My eyes widened. If he was the one trying to get the sword, then he wanted it for some reason. I could have sworn that I hadn't seen him before today, however, so he knew about the sword ahead of time. But how? He would have no way of knowing who had the sword. Argo specifically said he asked for Kirito. "All right, thanks, Argo. Be seeing you around." I waved and turned off to go meet with Kirito.

"Rythin!" Argo's voice made me turn. "You really should drive a harder bargain. I would have settled for 750." My shoulders slumped and she laughed. "See you later." She went off somewhere, most likely to fleece some other poor sucker out of their Col. Laughing to myself at my foolishness, I walked off to meet up with Kirito.

By the time I made it back to the agreed-upon meeting spot, the sun had gone down. The lamps had lit, and I was getting hungry. I didn't see Kirito anywhere, so I went to go get some food. After purchasing some bread, I munched on it as I wandered around town, trying to find him. I saw Diabel and Kibaou arm in arm, reconciling their differences with laughter, merriment, and drink. It's a shame, though – it's impossible to get drunk in SAO. Several older players tried. I rounded the corner and saw my friend sitting next to a person with a red hood. I smiled as I saw him talking with Asuna – I assumed he had given her some of his cream for the bread. I turned and walked back to the inn where we were staying and got a room. I finished my meal calmly, not really thinking or feeling anything. I relaxed on the bed quietly, unable to sleep and thinking of the next day. There was a good chance that I'd end up dead, no matter how much Kirito protected me. I didn't want to die, but I figured that I'd come to terms with my mortality; I expected to be dead. It was a shame that it had to end before I got to explore much of Aincrad. I wandered out into the lounge area, surprised to see Kirito. Something on my face must have given away my thoughts, because he dropped his small smile and got serious. Before he could say anything, however, I stopped him.

"Don't worry about me. I'm expendable. All I've got is a brain and a weak dagger."

Kirito frowned. "No. That's not true. You're my friend. I wouldn't want a party member or a friend dying on me, so try not to die tomorrow, okay?"

I laughed, with little humor. "Sure thing." I turned to leave, only to turn back when I remember my conversation with Argo. "Hey, two things. First, I talked to Argo this afternoon."

"Oh? What did she want?"

"Actually, I was the one who asked her to meet me. I paid her to tell me who was using her as a go-between to get your sword. Turns out, it was Kibaou."

Kirito looked surprised. "I was talking to him this afternoon. He made me an offer on my sword, though I turned him down."

I nodded. "I know. I saw you two earlier. That's when I contacted Argo to get the name of the buyer. Something struck me as off."

Kirito frowned. "Yeah. I figured something was up when he offered so much Col." He yawned. "Anyway, I'm tired. I'm gonna get a room and crash."

"Hey, I didn't tell you the second thing."

He paused in mid-stretch. "Huh?"

I walked partway up the stairs and looked over my shoulder. "I saw you with Asuna earlier. I wonder how much Argo would pay for that information, loverboy?" I thought you could cook an egg on his face. I laughed and kept going up the stairs.

"Rythin!" he shouted from the first floor.

"'Night, Kirito. Get me up if I'm not awake, would you?" I didn't bother setting an alarm.

"Not after that," he muttered.

I fell asleep still chuckling.

* * *

**December 3rd, 2022**

We walked in the rear of the raiding party in our designated slot of Group E. The forest was peaceful and quiet, though I only paid perfunctory attention to the surroundings. Instead, most of my attention was going over Argo's information. Why would Kibaou search out Kirito and his sword specifically?

Kirito was talking to Asuna. "Let's go over it again. We're the backup, so our target's going to be the boss's minons, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels."

"I know." She sounded bored; I was halfway asleep just having to listen to him talk, let alone pay attention.

"I'll use a Sword Skill to knock their weapons up and out of the way. When I do, Switch and jump in."

"What's a Switch?" Her question made me look over my shoulder, though she was totally focused on Kirito. I smiled and left the explaining to him.

"Okay, level with me. Is this the first time you've ever been in a party?"

"Uh-huh."

Apparently, her words were a shock to Kirito. After a few steps, Asuna and I turned around to see him standing there, dumbstruck. He slumped forward slightly. I didn't think he'd look forward to explaining even more, so I took pity on him. I looked over to Asuna. "Basically, a Switch takes advantage of stun time in the monster's pattern to attack it with a different style. The routines making up the mob's fighting pattern lag slightly when a different style is introduced, giving attackers more time to deal damage without needing to worry about counterattacks."

She nodded. "That makes sense." She turned forward and continued on. I scratched the back of my head while waiting for Kirito to catch up. When he did, I continued on.

"Kirito, she's a talkative one, isn't she. Was she like that last night, too?"

His face turned beet red again, probably due to remembering my parting jab. "Yeah, she was really quiet." His face turned contemplative. "I wonder why she never takes off that hood."

I grinned. "Why, wanting her to take it off?" The poor guy's ears must have been burning. He jabbed me in the side, causing me to grunt slightly. Asuna looked back in case we got in trouble, but I waved her on ahead. "Alright, I'll stop." We continued bickering like old friends through the labyrinth that made up the dungeon of floor one. The labyrinth was gigantic, as befit the name. A player could easily get lost in here and get trapped by mobs. Diabel's exploring party had cleared the path that we took, however, so we didn't encounter any mobs.

Before long, the entire party stood before a giant door. Diabel stood in front. "Listen up, everyone. I've only got one to say to you: let's win!" He looked at the concentrated faces of every person in the party. It might have been my imagination, but his eyes seemed to linger on Kirito for some reason. "C'mon!" He pressed his palm against the door and in response it swung open. All that we could see from the outside was a row of columns stretching into the shadows. As we entered, a pair of red eyes gleamed in the shadows. They were large, angry, and all together terrifying. Diabel entered the room with Group A, and something changed. The room lit up in bright pastel shades of yellow and green. From the end of the hallway, a loud roar sounded and a gigantic mob soared through the air, landing in front of all of us. When the dust cleared, I could see a large red monster with four health bars. It could only be Illfang the Kobold Lord. It roared, summoning the expected Sentinel minions. The mobs charged as Diabel stood calm and strong, a bastion of strength. He drew his sword and pointed. "Commence attack!"

And our party rushed forward to battle.

Leading the charge and meeting the mobs halfway was Kibaou, a player that surprised me. He didn't seem like the type to fight in the van; his time with Diabel certainly had changed him. Something about that thought niggled at me as odd, but I shoved it aside. It was time to fight.

The battle quickly dissolved into chaos. Diabel stood in the rear, shouting commands and moving the different squads around to fight. Illfang proved to be a tough foe, as its mighty attacks blew away defenders and its shield blocked most attacks. The fighters were chewing through its HP a bite at a time, though. There hadn't been any casualties so far, a blessing. Agil was fighting, using his sword skills to counter Illfang's mighty strikes, switching out with Kibaou to deal damage. Diabel kept a steady stream of commands flowing, manipulating his men with ease. I was impressed.

"Squads D, E, and F, keep those minions off us!"

"You got it," replied Kirito as he charged a Ruin Kobold Sentinel. He blocked its overhead strike, placing it off balance as Asuna switched in. She rushed in, clearing the ground quickly with her rapier drawn. I stood back, watching as she leaped into the air and unleashed a Sword Skill incredibly quickly. I couldn't see her sword strike; it was a blur of light slamming into the kobold and destroying it. The body of the mook burst into polygons as Asuna landed on her feet, sword outstretched.

"Rythin, watch out!" Kirito's shout alerted me to something behind me. His gaze was pointed over my left shoulder. Not looking, I sidestepped to the right just in time as a Ruin Kobold Sentinel's mace slammed into the ground beside me. Not wasting any time, I sliced at its body with my dagger. Holding it in a reverse grip in my left hand, I sliced its body in an upward diagonal, switching to a horizontal slash. Flipping the dagger, I unleashed a Sword Skill, piercing its skull and breaking it apart into polygons. My moves weren't as fast as Asuna's, but I moved faster than most given my light equipment and my build.

I flipped my dagger around to the more comfortable reverse grip. "Thanks for the warning, Kirito."

He looked at me curiously. "How did you know where it was?"

I grinned. "Two things. Your line of sight was over my shoulder, and the Sentinels always lead with a downward strike. I figured that I could step to the side and be out of danger, but not out of dagger reach."

He shook his head. "Just pay attention from now on."

While we handled the mook issue, the assault team had whittled away most of Illfang's HP. The fourth bar turned red, and Illfang let out a loud roar. Everyone backed away from it, unsure of its next motions. Surprisingly, the boss threw away its axe and shield. I realized this was the attack patterns changing to the curved sword.

Kibaou was grinning. "Looks like the guide book was right."

Suddenly, Diabel rushed to the front. "Stand back! I got it!" Confused, Kirito and I watched him. That action made no sense; the plan was to surround Illfang and confuse him. As we watched him, Diabel made eye contact with Kirito and smirked. Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle came together.

"Son of a…" I breathed, too quietly for Kirito to hear. Diabel was trying to weaken Kirito, using Kibaou as a go-between. That fact clicking into place triggered the rest of the puzzle to become clear. Diabel was a beta tester as well, and he didn't want competition at the top. I could only help but shake my head in admiration. It was a well-thought plan; unfortunately for him, it didn't work.

As Illfang pulled out his sword, Kirito gasped. Something must have been off with the sword. "Wait, stop!" His desperate cry turned only a few heads, Kibaou among them. "It's no good! Get out of there!" Diabel didn't listen, and unleashed a Sword Skill. Suddenly, Illfang leaped high into the sky, landing and jumping off of pillars in the room. Diabel stopped, stunned, and took Illfang's landing blow head on with no way to stop it. He was sent flying back, and no one could stop what happened next.

Illfang immediately charged another Sword Skill, rushing the airborne Diabel and knocking him across the room. Kibaou turned and shouted, "Diabel!", but Illfang landed in the circle of fighters, roaring. Kirito and I rushed to Diabel's side.

"Diabel!" He knelt down, lifting Diabel's head to look at his HP. The bar was red, prompting Kirito to dig out a healing potion. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Before he could give it to Diabel, his hand was stopped. Diabel looked up at him. "You…know… you were a beta tester too, weren't you?" Kirito's eyes widened.

"You were after the Last Attack Bonus, the rare item. You're just like me, a beta tester!"

Diabel smiled sadly. "Please… you have to… defeat the boss… for everyone here…" His body faded and burst into hundreds of polygons, scattering into the air and dissipating.

Kibaou's face was stunned; his will to fight was broken. "Diabel…"

Kirito crouched there motionless, eyes wide and shining. I thought back to when Klein left us to go help his friends – we should have been there to help them. I didn't even know if they were still alive. I thought back to the meeting in the town center: Diabel standing there, happy, sharing his confidence with everyone. He was the kind of person who would give his all to help out the new players. I, on the other hand, was the type to leave everyone behind to save myself. That strange chill formed around my heart again, the same cold as when Kayaba announced that we were trapped in his game.

I didn't even realize I had cried until the few tears fell to the floor. Kirito stood up without a word, motionless, and then turned with hard eyes toward the boss. I could feel his resolve to fight and win rising; he would not rest until one of the two was dead. He stared directly at Illfang, the monstrous red beast. Illfang was surrounded by players, but none were healed; its roar knocked them away.

Kirito tightened his grip on his sword, turning to face the boss. Asuna stepped to his side. "I'll go to."

I fell into position beside Kirito as well. "Count me in."

Kirito looked at both of us. All he said was, "Okay." And then we took off running toward the boss. Illfang let out a roar as he knocked away the last few defenders, which meant there was nobody between the three of us and him. "We'll hit just we did the minions." When Illfang saw us running toward him, it drew its sword back. It started glowing with an eerie white light; a Sword Skill. I broke off to the side – I wasn't going to be of any use up close to Illfang. I had no reach compared to the boss. Kirito lunged forward with a yell, unleashing a Sword Skill of his own. The two attacks clashed, knocking both Kirito and Illfang off balance. Asuna rushed in, leaping to use a Sword Skill.

But something was wrong. There was an imperceptible tightening in Illfang's muscles, a sign that only Kirito and I noticed. "Asuna!" we shouted simultaneously. Somehow she managed to twist her body to the side as Illfang's sword crashed down where she used to be. The boss had recovered from the Sword Skill clash, allowing it to twist and swing in a heavy slashing motion. At first, I thought Asuna had been caught in the attack; her red cloak had been ripped away. My shoulders slumped, my heart in my throat, in disappointment. From the side came the flash of a Sword Skill, however, and I was able to breathe again. Asuna had been able to dodge the strike, countering with her own blows. Kirito and I stared at Asuna: without her hood, her hair fell free. It was braided at the back to keep her bangs out of her face, but the rest fell down her back. Knocking back Illfang with a blow, she landed and stared at the monster, totally focused.

Kirito stood up and shouted, "He's coming back!" He rushed in to meet Illfang's blows with his own sword; the +6 enhancement was proving its worth. I shuddered, thinking about what would have happened if Kirito would have sold the sword. Kirito and Asuna were proving their skill as a team, each striking and blocking when the other was recovering from an attack. Asuna had just struck a heavy blow when Illfang swept his sword down in the same attack that nearly killed her the last time. Kirito dashed in, blocking with his own sword. He somehow knocked away the sword and prepared for another counter. Illfang activated a Sword Skill that started crashing down from above; in reaction, Kirito slashed using his own Sword Skill in an upward diagonal.

Something was wrong, however. Illfang's initial strike was only a feint, and the real strike blew Kirito backwards, doing heavy damage. He crashed into Asuna, both of them falling to the ground. Asuna was able to stand, but Kirito was badly injured. He tried his best to stand up, but Illfang had already jumped near them and was preparing to end their lives. I shouted out loud, "Kirito! Asuna!" and dashed off to try to do something. But someone else was closer.

Agil had somehow managed to charge the monster with his axe drawn and counter Illfang's blow, saving my friends. I rushed to their side, helping Kirito stand. Agil turned and looked back at the three of us as the other members of the raiding party charged Illfang to hold him back. "We can hold this bastard off until your health's back up."

Kirito looked up in gratitude. "You got it." Agil nodded and rushed into the fight. As Kirito downed a healing potion and Asuna supported him, I hurriedly told them all about the patterns in his fighting I had noticed. There wasn't much, given that the beast had only attacked a few times. From what I could tell, however, Illfang favored heavy blows over faster ones. Even his feint was heavy, though it had landed wide of Kirito.

Suddenly, the boss used an Area of Effect attack to knock away every player attacking it. In the brief space it had to breathe, it leaped into the air and prepared to attack using a Sword Skill. "Watch out!" shouted Kirito as he lunged off the ground, using a Sword Skill. Agil was the target of Illfang's attack, and so Kirito caught it by surprise. "You're going down!" He used his Sword Skill to fling Illfang into the ground away from the wounded party members. Kirito landed and rolled to his feet, shouting "C'mon Asuna! Rythin! Help me beat this sucker! One last attack!"

Asuna ran forward, rapier drawn. "You got it!"

I was caught by surprise at his request for my help, but I dashed forward alongside Asuna. "No need to ask!"

Illfang stood up, bellowing in rage and anger. Kirito met its attack head on, knocking its sword aside. Asuna lunged forward to strike with her rapier; as predicted, Illfang tried to attack again. By that point I had circled around to its back and struck with my dagger, driving it into the small of the back. Roaring in pain, it was open to Asuna's next strike. Lunging forward, Kirito sliced the boss from shoulder to hip. Not finished, he started his next strike going back the way he came; his eyes were blazing with fury and strength. Roaring a challenge, he sliced Illfang, leaving a deep cut from the hip through the sternum ending at the neck, sending Illfang flying over my head. In midair, Illfang's body glowed bright white and shattered into thousands of tiny little polygons.

It was over. I collapsed to my knees, mentally exhausted by the focus I had used in the fight to identify and study attack patterns. Everyone was silent until one person laughed. The congratulations screen showed up and everyone went wild, celebrating our victory over the first floor of this death game. Asuna pulled me to my feet as Kirito knelt where he had stood, delivering the final blow to Illfang. I ascertained that I could stand by myself as she said, "Good job." As the room's bright colors faded, I watched Kirito as he breathed deeply in and out. He was staring at some screen – most likely his Last Attack Bonus. Before I could look at his reward, the sound of footsteps approaching made me spin.

It was only Agil. "That was some fine swordsmanship, all of you. Congratulations." He raised his voice slightly. "Today's victory is all thanks to you, Kirito."

Kirito tried to deny it. "N-no…."

The assembled players had other ideas. "Yeah!" "You rock, man!" "Great job!" The varied applause and celebration finally brought a smile to Kirito's face.

"Stop cheering!"

Kibaou's voice rang throughout the hall. Everyone stopped and turned back to where he was sitting on the floor. "Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diabel die?"

Kirito sounded as confused as I felt. "Let him die?"

Kibaou looked up. "That's what I said. Admit it! You knew the technique the boss was going to use." He was right; Kirito had yelled out to Diabel before the blow that killed him. "You could have told us. Then Diabel would have stood a chance. He wouldn't have had to die!" The mood, previously festive, had turned ugly. People were muttering in small groups about Kibaou's poisonous words. I could see some glances toward Kirito, and none of them had a good look about them.

Someone from the crowd stepped forward. "I know why he knew! He used to be a beta tester! Think about it, he knew the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us." I stepped forward, angry. That was my doing, not Kirito's. I was the one who figured out the patterns that kept us from dying just like Diabel. Only Agil's arm stopped me from going up to the person and start shouting at him. I looked up in confusion, and he only shook his head. I frowned, angry, and stepped back. The shouter continued. "And, I bet he's not the only beta tester here. C'mon, show yourselves!"

The mood of the crowd had turned against us. One minute, they were applauding our skills and the next they were out for our blood. People were backing away from each other, searching the other players as if trying to find a clue to whether or not they were beta testers. The unification Diabel sacrificed his life for was falling apart before my eyes. Agil, Asuna and I walked through the crowd, trying to reach Diabel. When we reached him, Agil tried to talk to him. "Hey, calm down." Kibaou still looked angry, and so I got angry. Anger crystallized inside my body, anger at Kibaou and his angry words, his stupid hatred for beta testers, and I opened my mouth, prepared to accuse Kibaou of trying to sabotage Kirito.

Before I could speak, Kirito started laughing. It was a dangerous laugh, the laugh of a man who didn't care if he lived or died. It was almost hysterical laughter. If I could have seen his face, I wouldn't have known him. "So you guys think I used to be a beta tester." He stood up. "It's not cool to put me in the same class as those noobs."

Kibaou was incredulous. "What'd you say?"

"You heard me. Most of the 1,000 people who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies. They were so green they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were." Kirito walked forward, tone harsh, and eyes forward. He walked between me and Asuna without even acknowledging us. "But me? I'm nothing like those guys, man. During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers. That's a fact. I knew about the boss because I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors." His eyes scared me. They were hard and mocking. "I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker."

I had no words. Apparently, Kibaou did. "Wh… What the hell? If that's true, then you're worse than a beta tester. You're a goddamn cheater, that's what you are!"

Angry players were shouting insults at Kirito. "He's a beta tester and a cheater. He's a beater!" Kirito straightened.

"A beater. Yeah, that's good." Everyone could tell his voice was dangerous, and they backed up. He opened up his menu and started scrolling through it. "Okay, you can call me a beater. Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore." He chose a piece of equipment and put it on; a long black leather coat fell over his shoulders. That must have been the reward from dealing the finishing blow to Illfang. He chuckled darkly, and started walking to the next floor. Asuna took off after him.

Suddenly, his actions made a twisted sort of sense. He was trying to ensure that the player's hatred would fall upon himself rather than the other beta testers. In a backwards way, he was trying to unify the players; nothing unified people more than a common target. I believed that Diabel was trying to do so with Kayaba as the target. With Diabel gone, however, beta testers would have been reviled without Kirito's actions.

I looked to the stairs to the next floor. Kirito and Asuna were talking. I took the opportunity to get next to Diabel. I placed my hand on his shoulder and brought his ear close to my mouth. I whispered to him, "I know you tried to sabotage Kirito." He jerked away, shocked, as I grinned. No mirth reached my eyes. "Argo sells any information for the right price." Having said my piece, I turned and walked to where Kirito and Asuna were. On the way, I saw him dissolve the party. I caught up to him, passing Asuna, who was standing still. I stood by his side as he opened the door. As the door creaked open, I turned to him. "For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing."

He looked at me, surprised. "You… you don't hate me?"

I laughed. "How could I hate anyone who succeeded in unifying so many people?" Looking at him, I wasn't sure if he was crying. It could have just been the light playing tricks on me.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Asuna. You're good, and you can become strong on your own. If someone you trust asks you to join them, don't say no." It was good advice. However, I didn't plan on taking it. I didn't need others to be strong. "There are limits to what a solo player could become." To be honest, I pitied him slightly. He knew what he was doing by isolating himself at the top. If he could survive as a solo player, so could I.

I looked at him. His eyes were determined. I nodded. "Thank you, Kirito. If you need me, just ask." My first friend of SAO looked back to me.

"I'll do that."

And with those words, he walked through the open door.

I stood watching his receding figure for a while, not noticing Asuna standing next to me until she spoke. "How do you do that analyzing thing?"

I turned, surprised. "I should be asking you that about your speed."

She smiled. She was surprisingly cute when she smiled, though I wouldn't get in Kirito's way. "I just focus."

I grinned back. "So do I."

"Fair enough."

I stopped. "Hey, you were great. Would you mind…" Instead of finishing my sentence, I pulled up the friend list and sent her an invite. "To make it easier if we need to meet up again."

She was slightly startled, but accepted the request. "Of course."

I looked into the doorway leading to the second floor. I could no longer see Kirito in the fog. "Well, I'd best get going. No sense letting him get himself killed after he went to the trouble of providing them a common enemy." I waved to Asuna and hurried through the door.

Before I could go, she stopped me by grabbing my arm. "When I was eating by myself, Kirito told me that this world was our reality. Before that, I was ready to die." Her words were familiar, an echo of my thoughts the night before. "I think you should hear the same thing. Dying won't solve anything except make people that care for you sad. So don't die, okay?" I was stunned, surprised she could see through me so easily, and then nodded. She let go and I walked calmly through the door.

I probably wouldn't be teaming up with Kirito any time soon, though. He had locked himself in his own private shell to do what needed to be done. I could respect that. After all, I had done the same thing far too many times to count; hiding behind a mask. If Kirito was strong enough to accept his mask, then I had to be strong enough to put mine down. It's what he needed.

It's what I needed.

* * *

**So this was my first real attempt at writing a battle scene. How'd I do? If your reaction fell somewhere on the spectrum between love and hate, or if you didn't care, please leave a review. I can use all the help I can get.**

**Many thanks to Lunar Wave for being the beta reader for this chapter.**


	3. February 18th, 2023

**Chapter 3**

* * *

**February 18****th****, 2023**

"Hey, Rythin."

At the sound of the familiar voice, I looked up from my meal. A friend stood over my table, smiling.

"Asuna? What are you doing here?" The last I had heard of her, she was part of the 25th floor clearing party. The monsters had been ferocious, tearing apart the raiding party as they struggled to the boss room. I wasn't a part of the attack, being preoccupied on lower floors at the time. I had been grinding, attempting to gather materials to enhance my dagger. I was also somewhat underleveled, which made charging a boss room even more dangerous than it was naturally. I was underleveled and underequipped; a combination that I would be hard-pressed to find one worse for my health. By the time I had finished grinding, I had gained a few more levels, making it safe for me to brave the 26th floor. In all honesty, I was probably too weak to be a member of the raiding party anyway; from what I had heard, the boss was abnormally strong as a mark of the game being a quarter finished.

"What, I can't meet with an old friend?" Her gentle smile was relieving. She hadn't interpreted my curt answer as rudeness.

Asuna was probably one of the strongest players in SAO, after Kirito. Gone were the days when she had no idea what a Switch was. Her speed, already astounding on the first floor, had done nothing but increase in the time we had spent apart. I had heard rumors of a swordswoman with skills lightning fast, obviously referring to Asuna, but I didn't think she knew about the whispering. As far as I knew, she hadn't heard anything yet and I didn't want to be the one to broach it. I made a mental note to ask Argo to keep me in the loop about her reaction when she found out – I felt it would be something to see.

I decided to relax by teasing her slightly. "No." She jerked back, shocked; confusion was plain on her face. I held my straight face as long as possible, drinking in her surprise. I couldn't hold the poker face for long, breaking down after about ten seconds. "I kid, I kid. Have a seat." I gestured across from the table to an empty seat.

"Thank you." She sank down to the seat. "So how have you been?"

"Not too bad, all things considered. How was the 25th floor raid?"

She grimaced. "Don't remind me. It was terrible."

I grinned. "So what's the occasion? I haven't seen you since Illfang." I had heard that she and Kirito teamed up for a quest on the third floor, but I hadn't seen or fought with either of them since Kirito was termed the first Beater. I felt like he was avoiding us for some reason. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you sought me out deliberately. Is this an offer to team up again?"

She nodded. "Exactly. I know where the entrance to the labyrinth is."

"No Field Boss?"

"None that I saw." Her speed of finding the Labyrinth entrance was remarkably fast. I remarked as such, and she smiled. "That is my specialty, after all." I wondered if she had heard the rumors after all.

I considered her proposal. If we could find the boss room, it would go a long way to raise player spirits after the Liberation Corp's massacre. They had charged the boss with faulty information and a weak formation, leading to a casualty rate of more than half of their guild members. Kibaou, the leader of the group, was distraught; the last I had heard he returned to the Town of Beginnings to join forces with MMO Today, an aid organization. I wasn't there, so I didn't know who to blame, but Kibaou was most likely the person who whipped them into leading the charge. "We have a deal. Set up the party, and I will join you after I finish my delicious food." Aincrad food was somewhat bland at times. I grimaced at the food in front of me, and Asuna laughed.

"I'll leave you to your lovely meal." With that, she stood, stretching. "I'll be waiting by the north exit to the town." She smiled and walked away. I found myself considering the partnership with her; with that smile, it wouldn't be bad at all. I laughed quietly to myself at my thoughts; I had no intention of forming a lasting attachment with anyone in this game. My friendship with Kirito was safe; he was too good a player to die. For everyone else, it was too dangerous. Sometimes the core of loneliness got a little much at times, but when that happened I went out and slaughtered some mobs. Nothing like virtual bloodshed to work out your feelings of inadequacy.

I sighed and pushed my chair away from the table. I had eaten enough to not be hungry while I fought in the labyrinth. I gave my equipment a cursory once-over, checking on my stash of healing items. I seemed to be set, though my weapon was still from several floors down. I had it enhanced several times, but it was still weak. My main strength was being able to predict the movements of my opponents. Even then, it took time to fully understand how the patterns fit together. As the front line moved higher and higher, the attack routines got more and more complex. It was frankly amazing that I hadn't gotten myself killed fighting alone.

As I approached the exit to the town, Asuna looked up. I waved and jogged to her position. "So, where's the labyrinth?"

She sent the invitation to the party. "It's this way." I grinned: after all this time, it looked like she was still not used to talking to people. "What's so funny?"

I waved off her question. "Nothing. Let's go." I glanced at her frame, standing next to me. "It's been a while since I've fought in a party."

She nodded. As I had guessed, I wasn't the only one who tended to fight solo. We walked along, her leading and me following, defending ourselves along the way. I had encountered the common mob before, a large insect with scythe-like arms. They tended to have a weak point in their algorithms just after swinging, an opening that I exploited fighting solo. Their claw-like weapons were connected to their arms by a weak joint, giving me a target. Fighting in a party with Asuna, though, was a huge difference from what I had previously experienced. I didn't need to be as on guard all the time, a factor that reduced the mental strain immensely. Fighting with a friend I could trust, I estimated the time spent out of towns was increased by 50% at least, possibly more.

Time seemed to blur past as we fought our way through the forested areas. I was more at ease in the field with Asuna than I was safely sitting in the towns; having a friend with you made a difference to your mental state. I mused on this relaxation as we ate a meal sitting in the tree. Asuna had recently taken up the Cooking skill. "So, Asuna, is this your food?" It was much better than the mush sold at inns. "It's good."

"Th-thanks…" Startled by her hesitant answer, I glanced over; she had blushed slightly.

That color startled me. Asuna didn't seem like the type to react like that over a simple compliment. "You okay?" The sudden intensity of her glare startled me. "Alright, you're fine." It crossed my mind that she might have misinterpreted the meaning behind my comment. I turned away from her and grinned; no sense in continuing to poke at the wasp's nest.

After further fighting our way through the forest, Asuna pointed out a crack in the rock face. "There it is."

I peered at the crack in the cliff face. "How in the world did you find this?"

"That's not important."

I shrugged. "As you were." I grinned at her, and we entered the labyrinth. Immediately, I could feel the difference in the air; there was a sense of being watched. The labyrinth was a lot different style-wise, though it kept the naturalistic theme the floor had; the walls and floor were cracked stone. Weeds and roots were everywhere. It was, overall, a very treacherous environment to fight in. Players would have to fight their footing as well as the enemies.

We explored the labyrinth recklessly, charging ahead whenever the path was clear. As both of our builds were speed based, we were able to cover ground quickly. As we fought our way through the dark and dank area, I kept getting this feeling of being watched. However, when I turned around no one could be seen. "Asuna, are you sure nobody else knows this is here?"

"I think the only person who could know is Argo." Asuna had a point; no matter what it was, Argo somehow would know. I wouldn't be surprised to find out Argo was the source of the watchful eyes. I shrugged and continued on.

Fighting our way through the mobs in the labyrinth was dangerous. It was also draining on my weapon durability; my enhanced dagger was almost broken after an hour. I switched to one of my weaker weapons, but each of the five backups broke one by one. They just weren't of good enough quality to be useful on this floor. After the last one broke, I sighed. "That's my last back-up dagger. All I have left is my original, and it's pretty beat up." I frowned, concerned. "Should we go back?" It was a valid concern. If my weapon broke, I couldn't defend myself, forcing Asuna to pull double duty. Having her attention split between both the enemy and myself would only increase the odds that we would both die.

"It's fine. If it breaks, I can cover you," she assured me. I wasn't convinced, but equipped my dagger anyway.

I had just started to continue arguing when a rustling sound came from a dark tunnel to our right. We whirled, prepared for the worst, to see a large shadow emerge from the darkness. I backed away slowly as a large segmented insect crawled out and reared to its full height. Stretching from the floor to halfway up the wall, it was at least eight feet high. It had multiple legs, each tipped with an ugly-looking blade. I had a sinking feeling it was acid-laced, and I didn't want to get nicked by them. The dark red carapace reminded me rather unpleasantly of blood. According to the HUD, it was called a Crawlerpede. I looked at Asuna, who was watching the creature intently. I looked back the creature, trying to guess how the attacks would work. It would definitely try to pinch the player between the weapons, and I shuddered when I imagined being caught on its legs.

"Watch out for its legs," I called to Asuna. She nodded, and in a blur leaped toward the mob. I hung back, watching its attacks and blocks, trying to guess at the patterns. I had gotten lucky with Illfang and its reaction to being blocked, but I didn't want to risk my or Asuna's life. So far, Asuna was blocking every attack the mid-boss – for that was what it was – threw at her, but she was unable to land a hit of her own. The carapace of the Crawlerpede was too strong.

From the tunnel next to where Asuna and the Crawlerpede came rustling. Another Crawlerpede slithered out of the darkness, rearing up and clattering its legs. "Oh, you've got to be _shitting_ me." I drew my dagger, checking the durability left on it. It only had about 25% remaining, and I grimaced. Shaking my head and sighing, I leapt off the ground and at the second Crawlerpede. I dodged the first strike, expecting it, but was not expecting to get thrown back by the backswing. That thing packed a punch. Shaking my head to clear it, I stood back up. "Whew, that thing hits like a truck." I looked at Asuna; she seemed to be doing fine, so I went back to my own opponent. I glanced past the Crawlerpede; it seemed to stretch into the darkness. I felt a niggling suspicion, and I ran past the insectoid mob. I jumped on its back, following its path in the darkness. Eventually, I saw a light ahead; I kept running on the mob's back.

Suddenly, it sloped upwards quite alarmingly. I jumped off the mob and saw Asuna fighting in front of me. Shock showed in her eyes as I stared back at her, followed by understanding. I ran past the first half of the Crawlerpede and rejoined her side.

"So… We've got a problem."

She grunted, blocking an attack by the first half. "You don't say." She looked at her rapier, frowning.

"What's the matter?"

"The durability is decreasing faster than usual…" she murmured. She looked up, then gasped. "Rythin, look out!"

I followed her line of sight. The second half of the Crawlerpede had somehow gotten close enough to slice at us with its forelegs. Asuna was able to dodge away, but I was not so lucky; I was barely able to block the attack with my own Sword Skill. Pressing my blade against the Crawlerpede's leg, I struggled with the limb briefly until I heard a sharp crack. The leg had broken my dagger in half.

I stared at the dagger tip that clattered to the floor, and couldn't feel anything but shock. I turned back to the Crawlerpede just in time to catch the monster's Sword Skill in the chest. I was sent flying and slammed into the wall. Crumpled at the floor and watching my health decrease, I could only hear the ringing in my ears. Groaning, I tried to sit up – even though I couldn't feel any pain, shock and terror kept me paralyzed. I saw Asuna rushing over to check on me, pressing me down. She turned, saying something I couldn't hear, and faced the Crawlerpede charging us. I knew we were both about to die, and all I could think was that Kirito was going to kill me for letting Asuna get hurt. It was as if time had slowed to a crawl; the glowing leg descended on both of us, and there was no way for me to move. I knew Asuna wouldn't leave me to die if she could possibly save me, and that was going to get us both killed. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see Asuna die. She would die and it would be my fault. Because I was unable to survive in this death game alone, I was dragging a friend down with me.

I was pathetic.

"Knights of the Blood, forward!" A loud cry rang from behind us. A shield blocked the killing stroke, and I couldn't understand what I was seeing at first. A man dressed in red and white armor was standing over the two of us, looking down at us.

"You two kids alright?" His rough voice was tinged with concern. I nodded mutely, unable to speak. We weren't dead. That was the only thought that kept running through my head as I watched several other players in red and white clothing attacking the Crawlerpede, holding it off while we recovered. "Sir, they're alright!"

"Excellent." A man stepped forward carrying a gigantic tower shield. He wore pure red armor with a white cape. "I'm glad we made it in time."

"You…were the ones following…us?" I managed to gasp out. My health was dangerously low, and I was hyperventilating from the simple fact that I was alive and Asuna was unharmed.

"Ah, so you heard us. I'm impressed." He took out a crystal. "Heal." As the crystal broke and my health recovered, I sat up and took a better look at the man. "I am Heathcliff. And you are Rythin and Asuna, respectively." He already knew who we were. That meant one of two things – he wanted to talk to us, or he had specifically sought us out for some dubious reason. Given that he seemed to be the leader of these men, having been addressed as 'sir' and presumably being the one who ordered them forward in the first place to save us, I leaned slightly more toward the possibility he needed to talk to us.

"That's correct." Asuna spoke calmly, as if she hadn't been about to die. I had no idea how she did it, being so brave in the face of death. I was a coward. "Thank you for saving us."

Heathcliff smiled. "Not at all. After all, I couldn't let my prospective recruits die, could I?" His careless words masked the sudden intensity of his expression. Knights of the Blood must be a new guild recently created, and Heathcliff had personally chosen us to be members. Kirito's words rang in my ears again.

'If someone you trust asks you to join them, don't say no.'

The only problem was that I didn't trust Heathcliff or his men at all. They had saved us, true, but I was wary of anybody in a dungeon. I glanced at Asuna, and our eyes met. I assumed she had thought of Kirito's words as well. She nodded, indicating that I should take point in the conversation. I nodded in reply and turned to Heathcliff, still sitting on the cavern floor. "Recruits for what, if I may ask?"

He chuckled. "Why, for my guild Knights of the Blood, of course. It's a new guild I've started." He gestured to the red and white-clad members fighting the mid-boss. "I would like to have you two join."

"In what capacity? Because if we're just going to be rank and file, I'd have to decline."

Heathcliff shook his head. "No. Asuna, you would be my second-in-command. I've heard of your speed." Ah, those rumors again. I looked at Asuna, watching her reaction. Unfortunately for my amusement, her head was hanging forward. Her ears were bright red, however. "Rythin, you would be in charge of planning operations. I've seen your mind at work." It was my face's turn to start burning – I didn't handle compliments well. Asuna's giggles didn't help matters at all, either. "You two are powerful players, even more so for making it this far as solos. I would be honored to have you join my guild."

The flattery worked well – I was considering accepting his offer. After all, I had been getting lonely lately, and hunting had been getting considerably more difficult. "I…" I was going to stammer out some sort of ambiguous answer, delaying the actual decision.

"I accept your offer." Asuna's voice rang clearly in the hall.

Heathcliff smiled. "Excellent. Rythin?" I took my time considering his attractive, albeit sudden, offer. I had always wanted power, and that was what he offered. Still, I was wary. I had been offered the solution to everything. I had been handed everything I wanted and more.

And yet, something felt wrong. After all, everything a person did, they did for gain. The gain for Heathcliff wasn't evident at first glance, and I was too exhausted to probe for the hidden reward. "I apologize, but I will have to decline." Asuna and Heathcliff looked at me, Asuna with a shocked expression and Heathcliff emotionlessly. I assumed that not many people had turned down the offer. Being with a guild was like having a dedicated group of people to take care of you, so long as you were able to help provide for their safety. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement; you received protection, and the guild received your abilities. Solo players, such as Kirito, myself, and Asuna, were players that neither belonged to a guild nor had a dedicated party. Most solo players died out early in the game; it was difficult not having anyone to guard your back. Most bosses were killed by players in guilds as well; the more powerful guilds fought on the front lines, searching for bosses. The Aincrad Liberation Front had been the biggest and most powerful guild to date; at least, they had been until the events on the 25th floor decimated their membership.

"Rythin, are you sure?" asked Asuna.

"I'm sure, Asuna. I'm useless; I would only drag down the guild. I don't have a weapon, and even if I did I'm not as fast or as strong as you are." My smile was sad as I stood. "Heathcliff, thank you for the offer. If you ever need help planning a raid, I'll be willing to help." I pulled out a teleportation crystal.

Before I could use it, Asuna grabbed my arm. "Rythin, think about this! You wouldn't have to be alone any more. And…"

I couldn't tell her how much I hated being alone. "I have thought about it. After all, I'm a solo player, right? Being alone is my thing. This was fun, though. We should do it again." I grinned wryly. "I'd prefer to leave out the part where we almost die, though." I shook off her arm and shouted, "Teleport! Yanoma!"

I could see Asuna saying something as white light enveloped me. I couldn't hear her words, however.

Something told me I didn't want to.

* * *

**February 19****th****, 2023**

When the light faded enough for me to see again, it was past midnight. Asuna and I had spent over twelve hours in the dungeon. I checked into an inn without thinking about what I was doing. I collapsed on the bed, trying to find refuge in the peace of sleep. My chest felt heavy, for some reason.

I awoke in the morning from a restless sleep feeling just as tired as before I tried to sleep. I stood, yawning, as I recalled the events of the previous day. The heavy feeling in my chest wouldn't go away; I wasn't sure if it was loneliness or sadness. I chose to treat it as loneliness, and was about to go hunting when I remembered that my best dagger had been shattered by the Crawlerpede's attacks. I really had nowhere else to go, so I walked out of the room to go buy another dagger. It wouldn't be as good as my old weapon, but it would have to do.

I walked out into the street in a daze. I purchased my dagger without haggling for it, another sign I wasn't in my right mind, and then walked more or less aimlessly. All the while, I was thinking about the day before. Had I made the right decision? My mind said yes, but that heaviness in my chest said maybe not. I idly wondered what Asuna had said as I was leaving. I was torn; I wanted to find her, but I didn't want to know what I would find.

Thinking about Asuna reminded me. I reached out, swiping open the main menu with my right hand and tapping to the party screen. I hesitated over the party dissolve command; it was the final split. No longer were Asuna and I two solo players. Now, she had responsibilities as part of a guild. And I was alone again.

A familiar voice roused me out of my thoughts. "Hey, Rythin!" I turned to see Kirito.

"Kirito! It's good to see you again." I greeted him. There was no sense worrying him with my own problems. "Let's go to the inn and catch up.

We sat down at a table and simply chatted for the better part of three hours, eating some of the food sold by the proprietors. It didn't measure up to Asuna's cooking, however. As for Kirito, he had been busy fighting on the front lines as well. His particular fighting style of a one-handed sword with no shield was concerning, but it wasn't my problem. He had heard some new rumors, though. "I heard Asuna joined a guild."

"Let me guess, Argo?"

"Naturally." I didn't know how she did it. I had come back immediately after I declined Heathcliff's offer and had fallen asleep immediately. I doubted Asuna had said anything to her either.

"Amazing. Anyway, it's called Knights of the Blood. Pretty serious stuff; they're on the front lines even though they're a new guild."

"A new guild on the front lines? That's risky."

"Tell me about it. Did Argo tell you the rest?" Confusion was plain on Kirito's face; he had no idea what I was talking about. "The guild leader, Heathcliff, offered me a position in the Knights of the Blood, but I declined."

He shook his head. "No, I hadn't heard anything about that." He didn't press about my reasons for declining membership, something I was grateful for. I doubted I could have talked about it right then.

I stood up and stretched. "I was about to head out and fight mobs. See you later, Kirito."

He looked at me. "With that dagger? It's not even enhanced, Rythin. I saw you buy it this morning." He was right; I hadn't bothered to take any safety precautions. I looked at him, and concern was written on his face plainly.

"Please, don't ask. I don't want to talk about it."

He sighed. "Fine. Just please, don't die."

I laughed darkly. "I didn't plan on it." What I didn't add, though, was that part of me somewhat hoped to die. Just so that I didn't have to deal with fighting every day, nonstop. This world was getting to me.

* * *

**February 26****th****, 2023**

It was the afternoon – I had returned from my morning session of fighting to eat lunch and grab a quick nap. I left the inn, and headed out to the town exit to resume where I had left off. Before I could leave, though, I was greeted by the sight of another familiar face. "Ah, Argo, just who I wanted to see." I took hold of her shoulder. "I wanted to ask you a few questions."

She turned to face me. "What a coincidence. I was just about to start looking for you." I twitched in shock. My questioning look prompted her to continue. "I'm here to deliver a message from a Heathcliff of the guild Knight of the Blood. Hey, that's the guild Asuna joined, right?"

"Confirmation or denial will cost you." She had taught me well.

Argo nodded. "I've taught you well. Anyway, the message says there's going to be a meeting about clearing the floor boss today at 6:00. He wanted you to meet with him at about 4:30 to go over battle plans." She twitched her nose. "I didn't know you were part of that guild."

"I'm not." I didn't feel like being bothered with haggling over a price for information. "Did Heathcliff say where to meet?"

"He said the meeting was in his room." Argo gave me his address.

"Thanks, Argo." I glanced at the time in my HUD. It was already 4:00 in the afternoon. "I have to go. Be seeing you!" I waved and sprinted off. If I hurried, I'd be able to make it in time. I didn't particularly want to anger Heathcliff, as he was giving me the opportunity to help fight, but I couldn't help being late. It was only after I arrived at the place Heathcliff was staying that I remembered that I hadn't asked Argo any of the questions I wanted to ask her about. There would be other opportunities.

I made my way to his room, and knocked on the door to let him know I was there. I heard a muffled, "Come in!" and opened the door. Normally, inn doors were locked so that only the owner or members of their party could open them, but by knocking and then having the occupant welcome a player in, the player could open the door himself. Apparently, the inability for anyone other than the owner or renter to lock doors had resulted in some awkwardness between Kirito, Argo, and Asuna back when the front lines were single digit floors. I still hadn't gotten the full story out of any of the three, though not for lack of trying.

Heathcliff was standing over map data of the labyrinth. Half of it was what I assumed to be Asuna's, and the rest would have been from exploring after I left. "Ah, good, you're just in time. Come, take a look." He beckoned me over to the table.

"So what do we have?"

He pointed to a spot on the map. "The boss room is here. We entered briefly to guess what type of boss it was, and teleported out once we got what we came for. The boss is some kind of serpent creature named 'The Venomous One'."

"Sounds lovely. What does it look like?"

"It's got plenty of spines on it," he said. "Two gigantic fangs, sharp spines down the entire length of its body, and a tail."

"That last one seems off." If I seemed to be more flippant than usual, it was most likely due to the heaviness in my chest. It felt like I had to remember to breathe far too often.

Heathcliff seemed to understand my need to make jokes about this. "It just so happens that the tail is long, sharp, and most likely poisonous."

I nodded. "That makes sense. If I had to guess, the poison is the real threat, rather than the blades themselves. With a name like The Venomous One, the venom is probably quick and powerful. I'd make sure everyone has several crystals in their pouch to counteract that." I looked up to him. "I'll need to know everything you have about the boss room and the boss."

Heathcliff smiled. "I anticipated your request, and my second-in-command will brief you." Something in my mind clicked. By second-in-command, he most likely meant Asuna. Heathcliff walked to an adjacent door and knocked. "Asuna? You're needed."

The door creaked open slowly. I found myself craning my next to see into the crack. Asuna peeked out. "Of course. Of course Rythin is here to see me." I had to admit, my curiosity was piqued. What didn't she want me to see? Then she opened the door fully and I tried my best to not burst out laughing. Tried, however, not succeeded. Through my tears of laughter, I could see her face getting redder and redder. "Sh-shut up! It's not funny!" I could only double over in laughter. "It's not like I wanted to wear this!" The laughter was partially hysterical, but I needed the release. I think Asuna understood, because through my tears I could see her smiling slightly. Her outfit was the cause of my uncontrollable mirth, due to its dissimilarity to anything she had worn before. The stark contrast, combined with my repressed emotions, led to the hysterical laughter.

Gone was her usual leather armor and boots. In their place was a white form-fitting outfit with a red skirt. She had on white gloves that reached to her upper arms, as well as boots with stockings that stretched to her upper thigh. A white cape and red trim completed the ensemble. I managed to calm my laughter for a brief moment. "N-no, you look nice. Very professional." I was still chuckling with tears streaming from my eyes, but I was composing myself. "Anyway, I need to know everything about the boss. Even if it seems inconsequential."

Asuna nodded. "I know. I've seen you work your magic." She then proceeded to explain everything she had seen, starting from entering the room and ending with the teleportation. Her detailed information took an hour to impart.

"And you were the last one out?"

"Yes." Her information gave me quite a lot to work with. Asuna was quite observant while fighting.

I studied the map for a little while longer and then turned to Heathcliff. "I have a plan that may work. I can't guarantee everyone's safety, but it should minimize risk."

He nodded solemnly. "That's all I wanted. I can't ask for miracles." He looked at the map, and back to me. "If you're going to present this information, you'll have to look the part."

"Wait, what? Who said anything about presenting this?"

Heathcliff ignored me. I could feel Asuna's grin from across the room, and I barely restrained myself from scowling at her. "Take these…" he said as he typed on his console. A selection of items appeared in front of me. Most of them were of higher quality than what I wore now.

I frowned. "I can't accept these."

"I insist."

I shook my head – Heathcliff's expression told me there was no point in further refusal. "Fine." In all honesty, the armor would help keep me alive. I tapped accept, and the equipment was transferred to my inventory. There was no weapon among the gifts; I didn't mind, and in fact was relieved. I could not accept a weapon that I hadn't earned myself. I equipped the items without looking at myself. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too gaudy. "Asuna, how is it?"

She grinned. "Not as bad as mine." That was a relief. It would be hard to beat her outfit, though.

I turned to Heathcliff. "Is there a mirror anywhere in here?"

He pointed to the room Asuna emerged from. "Inside there. Feel free to take your time." I nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind me. I searched for the mirror, and took in my new appearance.

My appearance had more or less stayed the same. However, the materials of the clothes were top-notch, and most likely player-created. The boots and fingerless gloves were made of the same animal hide; they were patterned to appear like snake skin. I clenched my fist, watching the material stretch - there was no feeling of restriction. Nodding, I turned my attention to the main parts of the armor, those being the leg and chest pieces. They were a darker red, almost blood-red and segmented as if from an insect's carapace. Each segment was connected smoothly, not showing a gap when I moved my arms about. It was still classified as a light armor even though the tunic looked similar to the scale mail sold in shops; the scales looked almost like they had been slotted together over a shirt. It fit snugly, but didn't make any noise when I moved around. I had a sneaking suspicion I knew where the material originated. Underneath the dark armor was a black shirt - it showed that I was not part of the Knights of the Blood. The two colors were reminiscent of the Knights of the Blood without being their signature white and ruby; if anything, I looked like a darker or corrupted version of one of the Knights. I looked up at the mirror to see myself smiling. Clothes really did make the man. I was suddenly grateful for the difference in the color scheme – it would head off any rumors. It was a close enough deal being connected to Asuna.

I exited the room, nodding. Heathcliff and Asuna looked up from their position by the map. "Heathcliff, Asuna. Thank you very much for your help." Asuna smiled, and Heathcliff nodded. "I think everything is ready."

"In that case, we shall depart," said Heathcliff. "Come, the meeting starts soon." He swept out of the room, Asuna and I close on his heels. The majority of the Knights of the Blood were waiting outside of the inn, falling into position behind us. It made for a strange parade, with Heathcliff and Asuna leading the way. I felt out of place among these strong fighters.

Asuna seemed to sense my discomfort, dropping back to be closer to me. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. I have faith in you."

"That's what I'm scared of."

She hit my shoulder lightly. "You'll do fine."

Heathcliff stopped outside the meeting room. It seemed small, but I assumed the game system was such that the area inside was larger than it appeared. "Asuna, I want you to lead the guild when we enter. It will have a larger impact on the other clearers."

She was shocked. "Wh-what? I can't do that?"

I grinned. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. I have faith in you." She frowned at me, and I grinned back, happy to use her own words against her.

She sighed. "It's not like I have much choice." She took her place in the front of the group. Heathcliff nodded, and she opened the door.

I entered beside Heathcliff, and was immediately hit by the murmuring. A new guild had just swept in with an attractive person leading the vanguard; of course it would cause stirring. I glanced around the room - I recognized several faces, including Klein, Agil, Kirito, and Argo. I waved to them slightly. Argo and Kirito waved back; I hadn't seen the other two for quite some time. I glanced over to Asuna – she was studiously avoiding their gazes.

When Asuna reached the front, she stopped. Heathcliff and I took position next to her, by the map. She stepped back, looking at Heathcliff to announce their presence. "Thank you for gathering today." His voice was smooth and confident. "We are the guild Knights of the Blood." Whispering filled the air again; nobody had heard of them before today. This was most likely their first public appearance as a guild. Argo, leaning against the wall, was taking notes furiously. "I am the commander and guild leader, Heathcliff." He gestured to Asuna. "My second in command is this fine swordswoman, Asuna." Leaning over the map on the table, he continued. "I've gathered you here to discuss the boss raid planned."

A variety of cries rose from that announcement. Prominent among them were the demands to know how the boss had been found already. Heathcliff raised his hands, demanding silence. Upon receiving it, he started answering the foremost questions. "Through the brave work of these two players," he gestured to me and Asuna, "we have found the boss room already." He turned to me. "Rythin, if you could go over your plan?"

I nodded. Stepping forward, I drew everyone's attention to the map. Feeling many eyes on me, I swallowed and did my best to stay calm. "Asuna and the other Knights of the Blood have entered the boss room and have encountered the boss. It is a serpent-type floor boss with the name 'The Venomous One'. With a name like that, the immediate priority should be obvious." I described the boss's appearance. "I believe, and a Knight of the Blood can confirm, that the danger lies in the venom and not the blades themselves. The blades do little damage, but inflict a dangerous poison." I frowned. "Make sure you have several healing crystals capable of removing status effects."

Having started, I felt my anxiety melt away as I focused on the plan formed in my head. Waving my hand over the boss room on the map, I continued. "Unfortunately, I have not been able to view the area with my own eyes, but I have received first hand description from Asuna. I trust her completely." Glancing back to my friend, I saw her face turning red. I returned my attention to the task at hand. "The room is large and dark. There are several large pillars behind which to hide. The boss is reminiscent of a snake - I can only hope it will act like one. According to Asuna, the boss tracked mainly by scent rather than sight or sound. Vibrations in the ground, such as those caused by running, were also able to be traced." I imagined the scene in my head. "It might be possible to distract the boss by creating a large amount of noise and disturbance in the direction we want the boss to look. The clearing force will be split into three main camps - groups A, B, and C. Group A will consist of the party creating the distraction. That group will need to be the players with high health and defense. Groups B and C will be the strike forces. They will need to be the lighter and faster players, capable of striking and retreating quickly."

"Now, the boss is large. As such, it can't see its entire body at any given moment. Groups B and C will alternate striking as Group A keeps its attention away from the strikers and locked onto the tanks. The biggest danger that should be encountered will be when The Venomous One prepares to strike." I paused. "Have any of you ever caught a snake alive before?" Upon receiving several nods, I smiled. "This is the same concept. When it tries to coil to strike, that will be the cue to attack. With luck, attacking from the sides will break the attack routine unexpectedly, giving us more time to strike. It's a similar concept to a switch, only this time Attackers will have to be aware of two attacks; its spines and its tail. It could be possible to remove the spines on the back - if that is possible, that will be a priority after staying alive. Neutralizing a boss is the easiest way to survive." I looked around, meeting the eyes of the various players. When I met Kirito's gaze, he smiled and nodded, showing his support. I grinned slightly, heartened by his support. "As the old saying goes, you kill a snake by cutting off its head. I believe the weak spot will be where the head joins the body. If possible, after the boss is mostly dead, I want a small group of attackers to strike there. I don't want any nasty surprises from a pattern shift."

I looked up at the assembled raiding party. "This plan will hopefully minimize losses. I can't guarantee the safety of every player here. Group A will be in a large amount of danger." I frowned. "I don't anyone to die, got it?" I turned to Heathcliff. "That should be everything. I return control to you." I stepped back to scattered applause. Pushing my way out of the room, I stood in the streets, breathing heavily. I always hated speaking before a crowd, though I was able to speak briefly if I didn't have to make conversation or answer questions.

The door opening made me turn. I identified the player exiting. "Argo."

"Rythin." We stood in silence for a time. I concentrated on calming my heart rate. After a time, she couldn't contain herself any longer. "I thought you said you hadn't joined that guild!"

"I didn't. It was a private contracting." I felt somehow superior by knowing something she didn't; a petty feeling, but one I liked. "If they need my help with planning, I have offered to help."

She made a noise of understanding. "I see." We resumed standing outside the meeting, staring at nothing.

After a time, I looked at her. "Shouldn't you be inside, taking notes and gathering information?"

She shook her head. "After you left, it was more or less dividing people into groups. Booring." She stretched. "There's so much more fodder for rumors out here."

I laughed. "I somehow doubt that. 'Player stands still' – that will make you tons of Col."

She grinned. There was some strange glint in her eye that I didn't particularly like. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about Asuna."

"Asuna? What would I know about her?"

She tapped her menu, transferring 12500 Col to my balance. Seeing the number caused a small chill run down my back. "Oh, I've seen you two in a party together. I just wanted to know whether the two of you have gotten together in any other way." If I had been drinking water, I would have been in danger of choking.

"Wh-what?" I sputtered. "Wha…who….Asuna? With me?" The very idea was wildly fanciful, and I told Argo as such.

"Hm…" she didn't seem convinced.

Looking for a way out of this situation and for a way to turn it into my benefit, I suddenly had an idea. "Here's a thought. Don't quash the rumor unless you're asked directly." When Argo looked at me inquisitively, I continued. "If it spreads, I will most likely be asked if it's true. I'll send them to you, and you can charge them three times your normal price. Profit for everyone." I grinned. "I'd take half, of course, but that would still leave you with 50% extra for saying no."

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea." She looked at me. "You have a deal."

I shook her hand. "Excellent." At some point, she had decided I wasn't so bad even if I hadn't been a beta tester. At this point, I was about as close a friend to her as Kirito was.

Before long, Heathcliff and Asuna exited the building. Kirito and Klein followed shortly after. Heathcliff came to me. "Rythin, you'll be standing back, watching the battle. If you see any patterns that could help, don't hesitate to tell Asuna or myself." I nodded, glad to be out of danger's way and guilty for feeling that way. I couldn't defend myself adequately with a store-bought dagger. "We leave soon. Gather your equipment and get ready."

I shrugged. "I've got most of what I'll need." Heathcliff looked at me, nodded, and then left. I turned to Kirito and Klein. "Hey Klein, haven't talked to you for a while."

"It's been too long, man. Why didn't you tell us you were working with the Knights?"

I sighed. "Because I'm not. Look, it's long and complicated and I don't really want to discuss the details, okay?"

Kirito smiled. "It's fine, Rythin. By the way, nice outfit."

I looked at myself. "Present from the Knights for coming up with the battle plan." I laughed. "I think the material of the armor is from the mid-boss that almost killed me a week ago." I waved away their concerned expressions. "It's fine, nothing happened."

Kirito frowned. "Is that where your dagger broke?"

My hand unconsciously reached to my sheath. "Yes."

Asuna spoke up. "We should be leaving soon. Klein, don't you have a guild to run?" He had set up a guild with his friends, the one he told me and Kirito about on the first day. He was a proficient curved sword user, and I didn't really want to meet him in battle. I shuddered to think of the damage that blade could do.

"Ah yeah, I should get over there. Rythin, good seeing you again. Later!" Klein ran off to join his guild. Asuna did the same, declining Kirito's offer to form a party.

He did pressure me into joining his party, saying "You can't defend yourself with a weak weapon like that. At least let me keep you alive." I hated admitting it, but I was more or less defenseless. I felt weak and useless, more a hindrance than anything else.

During the trek to the boss room, I stayed mostly silent. It was good being with Kirito again; I missed his company, as he was one of my few friends in this world; but I felt like I couldn't do anything. I grew more and more withdrawn as the day wore on.

Eventually, we came to the boss room door. It was the same as the others; carved with various symbols. Several patterns repeated. Overall, it was an intimidating yet aesthetically pleasing door. I pushed my way through the crowd to join Asuna. "Rythin, so nice of you to join me. I've been waiting for you." I was slightly conscious of the jealous eyes on my back – Argo would hopefully be getting plenty of information buyers.

Heathcliff turned, back to the door. "Everyone, are you ready? Form your squads." I saw Kirito dissolve the party and join Group C. Asuna joined Group B. "Alright. Let us fight and win!" He opened the boss door. We entered cautiously.

The color palette shifted to the boss fight arena, and the door slammed shut behind us. A hissing sound emanated from the end of the hall, as a large creature slithered out, using the various pillar to guide its movement. My eyes widened at the sheer size of the boss; Asuna's description hadn't done it justice. The scales were dark and gleaming wickedly; the fangs were serrated and equally dark. I backed up, unthinkingly trying to get away from the serpent. The Venomous One's HP bars flashed onto screen – the four HP bars filled quickly. I was worried for everyone's life.

Heathcliff took charge quickly, shouting orders. The three groups sprang into action. Agil, in Group A, took up his axe. "Hey! Over here!" The Venomous One hissed and lunged forward. Agil met the lunge with a Sword Skill with his axe, groaning from the impact. He wasn't injured, fortunately, but he was forced backwards several feet from the force of the attack. Suddenly, the Venomous One recoiled in pain. I assumed Group B had launched their assault. The Venomous One hissed at Group A, flicking its tongue out to taste the air. It started curling in on itself, trying to reach the players attacking it from the side. Heathcliff shouted orders, and Group C started raining Sword Skills on the other side of the snake. The plan was working.

The Venomous One's health depleted slowly. The blows were landing without being countered, but the hard scales prevented half or more of the damage dealt to it. Slowly but surely, however, the health bars disappeared one by one. The boss seemed easier than usual; most likely because it was the floor after a milestone. From what I had heard, the 24th floor was similar to this one; no Field Boss and a weak Floor Boss.

After the third health bar disappeared, something in the pattern changed. I noticed the slight difference when The Venomous One stopped lunging at Group A. Instead, it contracted slightly, shrinking in on itself. The spines on the back stood up like those of a hedgehog. I gasped, recognizing an attack signal when I saw it. "Everyone, fall back! It's going to launch the spines!" I was too late. It launched each glowing spine, piercing through several players. They were thrown against the wall; they hadn't died, but they couldn't reach their pouch to counteract the poison. "Kirito! Asuna! I need you!" The pair nodded and broke off their attack. Reaching my side quickly, they bent over, breathing heavily.

Asuna was the first to be able to speak. "Rythin, what…do you…need?"

"Those spines. Do you think you can hold one?" There were several spines lying against the wall where they had landed after missing players. From what I could tell, the only way to attack was with the tip, making the weapon suitable for Asuna.

She studied the spine. "I should be able to use it as an impromptu rapier."

"Good. Kirito, Asuna, I have an idea." I paced in a small circle. "Theoretically, we should be able to poison the boss itself. Spiders are vulnerable to their own venom, as are some snakes. With luck, the boss will be weak to the spines."

Kirito looked at me. "What do you need me for?"

"The target is the neck. Kirito, you'll need to knock away some scales first. The spine would be too damaged to impart its poison otherwise."

He nodded. Something in his eyes told me he would get the job done. "Alright! Let's do this!"

Asuna grabbed the spine in her right hand. "Here we go!"

They leaped off the ground in a blur. I could barely follow them. They dashed up close, trying to close the ground to the snake. The Venomous One hissed, trying to strike at them. Groups B and C had been forced to fall back by the spine attack, making them unable to stop the blow. Asuna somehow moved even faster than before, avoiding the lunge. I thought Kirito had been struck, but as the smoke cleared I saw him in the air unharmed. The Venomous One had missed them both. Kirito landed on the snake's head and ran down the back to the neck where the scales were fit the loosest. In order to have the scale armor and still move, there were larger gaps between scales. He started raining blows and Sword Skills with his sword, but the scales would not break. He lost his footing as The Venomous One started thrashing, trying to shake him off.

"Group A! Keep that monster still!" Heathcliff shouted orders. The tanks in Group A threw themselves at the head of The Venomous One, ignoring their own peril. I was filled with conflicting emotions at that point in time. Every member of Group A was risking their life for a plan of mine that had a high possibility of failure. I was embarrassed by their trust in me, as well as heartened. Something inside the core of loneliness stirred slightly. Then I remembered that I was still alone - as much as they might respect me, I would never be one of them.

From Kirito's direction, I heard a snapping sound. For a second, my breathing stopped. Had his sword broken? I then heard the players cheering; when I looked, Kirito was holding up a scale. The snapping sound had been the scale breaking free. I started breathing again: Kirito was fine. Behind him, I saw a shape. Everyone had forgotten about the bladed tail, and it struck with pinpoint accuracy. I couldn't even shout for him to watch out.

Suddenly, he pitched forward. Asuna had shoved him out of the way of the bladed tail; this, however, placed her straight in its path. Glowing with the mark of a Sword Skill, it slammed into her back. Everyone gasped in concern; I couldn't move. Had Asuna taken the full damage of the attack? I felt the ice in my chest constrict my lungs. The place had gone silent, everyone hoping Asuna was alive. Her appearance leading the Knights of the Blood had reinvigorated the fighting spirit of the front line; I wasn't sure if we could rally from her death. The Venomous One hissed as the tail blade rose again, preparing to strike once more.

The tail blade plunged forward. "Asuna!" My cry broke the silence. Kirito leaped up from the ground where he had sprawled, jumping up to her position with sword already drawn. Without thinking, I followed him, blowing past the defense team and leaping up onto the back of The Venomous One. Grabbing the spine Asuna had dropped, I slammed it into the unprotected spot opened by Kirito. But the shrieking of the boss and the fact that my plan had worked was lost on me as I took in the scene. Kirito, after blocking The Venomous One's attack, had picked up Asuna and was holding her tightly. As The Venomous One broke apart into polygons and we fell, she didn't move a muscle.

"Kirito...is she..." I couldn't finish my sentence. I was incredibly worried about my friend. The ice seemed like it had stopped my heart; I couldn't tell if it was beating or not. There were tear streaks on Kirito's face, but not mine. I hadn't cried since Diabel died. The ice in my chest wouldn't let me.

He looked up. "I've already used a crystal. She should be fine." My heart started beating again. Asuna was going to be okay.

I turned to the silent crowd. "She's going to be okay!" The cry broke the dam. Everyone was shouting and celebrating over a successful boss raid with no casualties. I was swept up in the celebration. I heard my name being cheered as I looked about in confusion. I escaped the crowd of cheering people and bent over, breathing heavily.

"Good job, Rythin." I looked up to see Heathcliff standing in front of me. "It's a shame you didn't join the Knights of the Blood; we could use you."

I shook my head. "Sorry, Heathcliff. Guilds aren't really my thing. I'm a little too weak."

He chuckled. "Not from where I was standing. What did you get from the Last Attack Bonus?" That reminded me to look. I hadn't even seen the pop-up due to my preoccupation with Asuna.

"It seems to be called...Nightblade?" I pulled it out. It was a dagger that resembled the fang of The Venomous One. I resolved to have it appraised as soon as I returned to town. I looked at the dagger more closely. The grip was leather wrapped to provide a secure handle. The gleaming blade was dark and sleek. The overall effect was a small unassuming blade. "It doesn't look like much."

Heathcliff held out his hand. "May I? I have the appraising skill." He opened up a menu that described the item and spun the display to face me. I felt chill; I assumed my face drained of color. It was one of the rarest daggers I'd seen, with a durability of 900 and enhancement available up to +80. It had some sort of special ability, but I had no idea what it was. "I apologize for not being able to tell you everything about it, but my skill is somewhat low."

"That's...that's..." I swallowed and managed to pull myself together. "That's fine, thank you. How..."

"If I had to guess, it's because you killed The Venomous One with its own venom." Heathcliff's suggestion mirrored my own suspicions. I took the dagger back and equipped it, sheathing it.

"That's me, taking the hard way."

Heathcliff laughed. "I'm proud of you. Look around...there's not a single casualty." He was right; the worst damage had been healed. Thinking about damage reminded me of Asuna. My concern must have shown on my face, because Heathcliff smiled. "Go on, your friend needs you."

"Thank you, Heathcliff!" I waved and dashed off to find Asuna. On my way, I ran into Agil.

"Agil! You have a high Appraising skill, right?" When he nodded, I drew the Nightblade and handed it to him. "Could you tell me everything about this?"

He took the dagger and opened its menu. His skill must have been higher than Heathcliff's, because the special ability appeared this time. "Where'd you get this dagger?"

"The Last Attack Bonus."

"That explains it. This dagger holds powerful venom on its blade." A poison…that ability was strange; in most cases, poisons had to be applied by hand before using the blade. "One nick and the opponent is badly poisoned." That explained the resemblance to The Venomous One's fang. "Just be careful, because it's weak other than the poison."

"Amazing. Thanks, Agil." I retrieved my dagger and went in search of Asuna and Kirito.

Fortuitously, they were together; Asuna was sitting on the floor next to Kirito. I collapsed on the ground next to her.

"Rythin, Kirito says you killed the boss." Her smile was enough for me. I was just glad she was alright.

"You and Kirito and the real heroes; I just stabbed it with the barbed spine. You're okay?"

"I'm fine. Honestly, you're just as bad as Kirito."

Kirito looked wounded. "Well, excuse me for caring." We were laughing and joking around, releasing tension from the boss fight. "Hey Rythin, what did you get for the bonus?"

"Oh yeah, it's this dagger. It's called a Nightblade." I pulled it out and showed it to them.

Asuna frowned. "It doesn't look like much."

"That's what I told Heathcliff," I told them. "He checked it out, and it has insanely high durability and enhancement stats. Apparently, it's the super rare drop for killing the boss in a different way."

Kirito pounded his fist into his other hand. "I get it, it's because you used the boss's own venom."

"Yeah." It was a common reward situation for role-playing games. The item drop pool would be overwritten if a specific action was taken while fighting the boss; the action this time was most likely the boss's own poison reducing its health to zero.

Asuna smiled. "Anyway, that's really cool." I grinned back. I had my new dagger, and I most likely wouldn't need to upgrade for a while. "I'm feeling better now, so if you two gentlemen would help me stand?" Kirito and I supported her as she stood up. "Thank you."

Heathcliff came over. "Ah, Asuna. I'm relieved you're alright." He gestured to the stairs leading upward. "We're about to open the door to the next floor, and I want you and Rythin leading the way."

I tried to back out of leading the clearing party. "I'm not really the one who should be in the forefront. Kirito and Asuna are the ones who –"

Heathcliff would have none of it. "And who came up with the battle plan, improvised on the fly, AND got the Last Attack Bonus?" At my crestfallen face, he laughed. "Oh, don't look so depressed. Kirito and Asuna will be there beside you."

"We what?" "We will?" the two asked in unison. I burst out laughing at their dumbfounded faces.

A malicious smile of glee snuck onto my face. "I think Asuna should be the one leading the way and opening the gate. It would be a shame to hide that custom tailoring."

"What? You can't be serious." Asuna looked at Heathcliff, who was nodding. "Sir, you can't be serious?"

"Rythin has a point, Asuna. You do make quite the impact." Heathcliff noted. Asuna looked wildly between me, Kirito, and Heathcliff, protesting all the while. "Well, time passes us by. We must go." Not brooking any opposition, he left.

Kirito, Asuna, and I looked at each other. "This should be the part where we somehow manage to ditch the group," I observed detachedly. We then sighed in unison. I shook my head. "Well, let's go." We walked to the steps and looked behind us. The cheering, if it were possible, doubled. I laughed. "This is the first time I've been cheered for being intelligent. I could get used to this." Asuna smiled, and Kirito grinned. "Alright, let's go!" I pressed on the door firmly, watching it creak open. We walked through, basking in the glory. We had successfully defeated a boss with no casualties after only a few days on this floor. I still felt strangely alone, though – I had done everything by myself. I had refused to join a guild for some unknown reason, and even partying with Kirito only made me feel weaker. I was by myself, even when surrounded by friends and people cheering for me. There was something strange about me that kept a barrier between me and the rest of the world.

I just didn't think anybody had noticed.

* * *

**This is my first attempt with writing a chapter totally from scratch. Hopefully, I did okay. If you fell somewhere between loving and hating it, please leave a review and tell me what exactly I could improve on.**


	4. May 17th, 2023

**Chapter 4**

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**May 17****th****, 2023**

I sank onto my bed and flopped backwards, relaxing. Even though it was only 4:30, I was completely wiped out. Fighting out in the field alone was mentally exhausting; I had to constantly be on guard in the event of a sneak attack, and I had to constantly focus to grasp the rhythms of the fight. There was nobody to talk with, either. The break between fights was so much less relaxing when I couldn't focus on a conversation and take a mental break as well. I talked to myself occasionally, working out the patterns of an attack I just saw, but that wasn't the kind of break I needed. The last time I had felt relaxed while in the field was several floors down when I teamed up with Asuna. I hadn't been in a party with her since she joined the Knights of the Blood.

Thinking of Asuna reminded me to check my Col balance. Sure enough, Argo had made another deposit. I closed my menu and lied back down, closing my eyes. Apparently, screaming out a friend's name and charging through a group of players, taking down a boss as an afterthought, just to reach her strongly reinforced the rumor that I was dating Asuna. In the time since that event, nearly three months, Argo had been asked by over one hundred people about the rumor. I had sent several of them to her, but the majority sought her out on their own. According to her, one player had asked three separate times. I didn't mind; I could care less about the rumors, and I was making a tidy profit for doing absolutely nothing. Receiving 2250 Col per person that asked, I was making about as much money as half a day's grinding.

The beeping notification of receiving a message woke me from my half-doze. I wasn't expecting any messages from anyone; I hadn't started a conversation with any of my friends, and most people asking about the rumor accosted me on the streets. Apparently, my red carapace armor was distinctive enough that players could recognize me just by seeing it. I liked it enough to not change, though. I sat up, groaning, and opened the message. It was from Klein.

I could almost hear his voice while reading the message. "Hey, Rythin. I ran into Kirito yesterday evening. Turns out he joined a guild. Cool, huh?" The contents of the message were surprising; Kirito had always seemed to be a dedicated solo player. I briefly wondered what would cause him to join a guild before standing up. I was wasting time wondering about his motives when I could easily ask him myself. I pulled up my friend's list, checking his location. I was in luck; he was in a town, meaning I could find his location relatively easily. I raised an eyebrow when I noticed he was on floor 11. Kirito was usually on the front lines grinding – this was a large departure from his normal routine.

As I walked out of the inn where I was staying, I switched armors to a more simple armor made out of snake leather. I kept the boots, though – I liked them too much. I had no intention on being recognized on floor 11, being that it was far away from the front lines; that sort of 'sneaking off' would only give more fuel to the fire of rumors about Asuna and myself. With luck, not wearing my typical outfit would throw off the players just enough that I could be in and out with nobody the wiser. After I finished changing, I pulled out a teleportation crystal. "Teleport, Taft." The crystal let out a white light, quickly filling my vision. As it cleared, I was standing in a rectangular clearing. The Teleport Gate was to my back as I stepped off the pedestal. Pulling up my map of the town, I quickly located Kirito's player icon. The task was made easier by his icon being a different color. I was briefly confused, because he was with five other players. They were moving as a unit – at the same speed – so I assumed this was his guild, or at least a party of players from that guild. I wasn't sure why they were located on floor 11, though; guilds on the Assault Team typically had a temporary base on the front lines. I made my way through the crowd, angling my course to intercept the group. As I exited an alley, I saw Kirito and his party in the distance, walking in my direction. I calmly leaned against the wall and waited.

As Kirito and his party passed me, he looked to the side and saw me lounging against the wall. He stopped, prompting the rest of the party to stop and see what was wrong. "Rythin?"

I pushed myself away from the wall and walked over. "Hey, Kirito. It's been a bit, hasn't it?"

The player in red turned to Kirito. "Kirito, who's this?" I approved of his suspicious tone; it was far better to be proven wrong in doubt than wrong in trust.

"He's a friend of mine, Keita," Kirito said. "We partied together on the first floor."

I looked over the rest of the party. There were four others in addition to Kirito and Keita. Of the four, only one was female. She seemed withdrawn and hid behind the other players. The other three didn't seem too noteworthy – one used a two-handed sword, one a mace, and one a spear. Overall, they didn't appear too high-level, and their gear wasn't front-line worthy. I wondered why Kirito was with them. "Kirito, who are your friends?"

"These are the Moonlit Black Cats." Kirito gestured to the player in red, "This is Keita, their leader," Kirito pointed to the player in purple, "Tetsuo," the player in yellow, "Ducker," the player in green, "and Sasamaru." He moved so that the girl was in my sight. "This here is Sachi."

I waved. "It's nice to meet you all. Kirito here saved me a couple times on the first floor. I owe him a lot."

Keita nodded. "Yeah. He saved us too, about a month ago. Without him, we wouldn't be standing here." He grinned. "It's awesome how strong he is. And he's only level 24, like us." That sounded wrong. Kirito should have been at twice that level; he was close to level 40 during the floor 26 boss raid. I narrowed my eyes slightly, and Kirito didn't miss the sign.

"Keita, why don't you guys go ahead? I want to catch up with Rythin."

Keita nodded. "Okay, Kirito. See you later!" He waved, and the rest of the group set off.

Kirito turned to me. Before he could say anything, I blurted out, "Level 24? What's going on, Kirito? How much do they know?"

He flinched slightly. "Not much. I told them I was level 20." His voice dropped in volume. "And they don't know about the whole Beater thing, either."

"Are you going to tell them?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I really like being in the guild, and I feel like they'll be afraid of me if they know." His fears were well founded – Beaters were still ostracized as players who only cared about themselves. If Kirito came out, to abuse the phrase, it was entirely possible that the guild would kick him out for lying. People were strange about the truth like that.

I shook my head. "You might have a point. But, they seemed like nice people. Give them a chance, huh?" I looked at him. "It's entirely possible they might welcome you."

"I…I just can't."

I sighed. "And I can't make you. Just be careful, okay?" I put my hand on his shoulder. "If you ever need any help convincing them to do something, just message me. I'll come wearing my real armor in case they recognize me."

"I still can't believe nobody knows your name, but a lot of people know your armor." That was a strange issue I had occasionally; although I had been featured in the news occasionally as one of the tacticians behind the front line boss raids, I could calmly walk in public without being mobbed. Occasionally, however, I would be approached by someone who had recognized my armor. The dark red color must have been relatively common.

"It's stylish, what can I say." The light banter made both of us smile; it was a back and forth that we both enjoyed. The easy routine defused any tension between us from the tense discussion. I grinned. "So tell me the real reason for joining the guild. It's Sachi, right? You dog."

Kirito blushed slightly. "Not at all. They're like a family." He smiled. "When I rescued them, they treated me like part of the family too."

I grinned. "You enjoyed the company? That's different, Kirito. Normally, you're a solo player."

He laughed, scratching his head. "Yeah…I guess… they're just so different." He looked off in the distance toward the inn. "I've been helping them out with training and everything. Sachi just switched to sword and shield, so I've been giving them advice and keeping them safe."

"That's just like you, Kirito. Sacrificing yourself to help out the new and weak players." I grinned slightly. "I've got plenty of experience with that, huh?"

He shook his head. "You weren't ever weak. I thought of you as an equal, you know."

I laughed. "High praise coming from you."

We walked to the inn, chatting aimlessly and with no real topic. We avoided discussing anything on the new floor that had just been opened. One thing I did ask Kirito was the location of the Martial Arts skill; with my new dagger, I could handle most humanoid enemies. Anything that was immune to poison, though, was bad news. With the Martial Arts skill, I'd be able to defend myself against things that I couldn't poison. "It's on the second floor."

I was surprised. "That far back? Huh."

Kirito grinned. "Don't tell Argo, okay? That's an expensive piece of information."

"I won't say anything." We arrived at the inn where the guild was staying. "It was good seeing you again, Kirito. Don't be a stranger."

He smiled. "I won't." He went inside the inn. I still had a bad feeling about the whole situation, but Kirito seemed to have it under control. I shook my head and simply walked, thinking about the various outcomes. The best outcome possible would be that Kirito told them about his true level and they accepted him anyway. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be too probable; most guilds had members that were around the same levels. Kirito being at twice their level would be a definite problem. The expected outcome was that Kirito continued lying until he got caught, at which point they would leave. The worst possible result, however, was much more serious. If Kirito was caught as a result of an argument or problem, the guild could be very angry. If they drove him away, reviling him because of his status as a Beater, Kirito could be damaged, for lack of a better word. If he opened himself to them and they rejected him, I didn't foresee him opening himself to anyone again for a long time.

I sighed. There was nothing I could do but wait. I teleported back to the 29th floor to rest. On my way back to my inn, I thought of Argo. I sent her a quick message asking her to keep an eye on him, promising her twice her usual fee when she had any information for me. Satisfied with my preparations, I collapsed onto my bed. A combination of mental exhaustion and worry allowed me to quickly fall asleep.

* * *

**June 12****th****, 2023**

The 30th floor was quite interesting. It was a large flat expanse with rolling hills. It was actually quite aesthetically pleasing.

However, I was somewhat more occupied on the 11th floor.

"How do I always manage to get myself in these situations?" I was currently occupied with running away from a trio of large humanoid enemies. They had rudimentary armor that could knock aside weak or poorly-timed blows, something that had stymied me when first fighting them. They had a large wooden club they used effectively as a cudgel, flattening any sort of defense I could throw in their way. Several of my raids on the Labyrinth had been stopped by these orcs before they began. Their giant tusks could be used as weapons as well, something that I barely dodged the first time they used that particular tactic. I turned, hoping to have put enough distance between myself and the closest orc to be able to formulate some sort of plan.

Unfortunately, I hadn't reckoned on their ability to keep up with me. When I turned, the closest orc was right on top of me… and swinging its cudgel straight toward my body. I forced my body to flip backwards, relying on my Acrobatics skill to get me out of danger. The edge of the glowing cudgel passed just under my back, making me sweat when I recalled just how close it came to hitting me straight on. I landed on my feet, my momentum making me slide several feet before I launched myself into the air. I landed a brutal spinning kick, striking the orc with the heel of my boot and knocking away a tusk. I fell to the ground, landing in a fighting stance. "This would be a good time to run." I followed my own advice and bolted, trying to gain distance from the pack. After some time, I glanced behind me; they weren't in sight thanks to the path I had taken. Without breaking stride, I jumped up and swung onto a branch, hiding myself in the tree's foliage.

The three orcs blundered through the bushes, slowing when they couldn't find me. Through a stroke of luck, they stopped underneath my hiding spot. I grinned; they couldn't find me, giving me a few extra seconds to launch a surprise attack. It was a good thing they were stupid, or they could simply look up. I jumped out of the tree, slamming my fists into the head of the lead orc – the one I had injured before. The cumulative damage killed it, and as it was breaking into polygons I took the offensive. I jabbed the orc on my right in the gut with an elbow, leading into a heavy hammer blow on the other orc's chin. With both reeling, I had the advantage and knew it. I flipped, catching the head of the orc on my right with my heel. Pushing off gave me the momentum needed to punch through the other orc's throat, instantly killing it. I landed in a roll and sprang to my feet, ready to dodge or run as needed. I shouldn't have worried; the other orc was flat on its back after being used as a launch pad. I walked over to it, and brought my heel down in the small of its back in a nasty axe kick.

As the last orc burst into quickly disappearing polygons, I received a message from Kirito. He rarely messaged me, so it had to have been something important. I quickly read through the message, and I paled. The Moonlit Black Cats had earned enough money to buy a house; that wasn't the problem. The issue was that the guild, minus Keita who had gone to buy the house, had traveled to floor 27 to earn extra money. Kirito was terrified that, to use his words, "Sachi and the others would be harmed." My lips set in a thin line. By the time I could make it to the Labyrinth on the 27th floor, the group would be deep in the dungeon. In addition, I couldn't track the guild using my map due to the fact that they were in the Labyrinth.

I looked up to see that several more orcs had surrounded me. I cursed my lack of attention and drew the Nightblade. "I really don't have time for this." I dashed toward the closest orc, slashing across its chest. Before it could react, I was already moving onto the next orc in my path. The poison set in quickly after each slice, and so I didn't have to waste time killing each monster individually – that meant I could abuse my speed and Acrobatics skill for all they were worth. The rest of the 'fight' was a blur, mainly because it was over so quickly; I could only remember vague moments like using an orc as a brief landing pad, slashing it and jumping into a tumble only to spring to my feet and score another orc along the ribs. Fighting was almost a rhythm game; once I had the beat of the fight down, I could start improvising along the melody. I rolled past the last orc, stood, and sheathed my dagger. The orc turned, and raised its club, ready to smash me into paste. I simply stood there, mentally counting. When I reached five, the monster shivered, dropped its club, and shattered into polygons. I allowed myself a moment of self-satisfaction before remembering my reason for pulling out the Nightblade in the first place.

I swore and quickly teleported to the 27th floor. As soon as I could see I took off, dashing for the Labyrinth as fast as I could go. I was thankful that I had chosen a faster build; I could cover more ground than they could. I just hoped I could make it to them in time.

I dashed through the halls of the Labyrinth, ignoring monsters and any damage I took. I had a bad feeling about this; this particular floor's Labyrinth was filled with false doors and traps. If the Moonlit Black Cats stumbled upon one and they couldn't disarm the trap… I shuddered to think of what could happen. I searched tirelessly, from one floor to the next. I tried to head in any direction with fewer monsters than usual in hopes that the path of least resistance would be indicative of where they had traveled. I was at least heading deeper into the Labyrinth, a good sign. I cursed under my breath for not taking the Tracking Skill; at a high enough level, I could have seen green footprints as a marker of where they had went. I glanced at the time; it was 5:40. I had received Kirito's message at 5:20; in all likelihood they had been fighting for at least 20 minutes before he sent me the message.

From a distance, I heard a door slamming shut. Dread filled me as I dashed toward the noise. A metal golem blocked my way, taunting me. Without breaking stride, I charged a Martial Arts Sword Skill, slamming my fist into where a human's stomach would be. The second hit of the Skill, a roundhouse kick, rocketed the golem into the wall where it burst into blue polygons. Even without having much skill in it, the Martial Arts skill relied on the user's speed and accuracy, rather than raw power. It was a good choice for a build like mine.

I raced through the Labyrinth in search of the sound's source, only to stop dead in my tracks when I found it. It was one of the traps; a hidden door that led to a treasure chest. When opened, the treasure chest would spawn an immense amount of enemies, as well as preventing players from teleporting out. I stood staring at the locked door, eyes wide and unable to speak. I could hear Kirito shouting inside, as well as screams of pain. Suddenly, everything went silent. After an unknown amount of time, the door slowly creaked open. Kirito staggered out, eyes wide and unseeing. I caught him as he stumbled, only to watch him rise again without my help and teleport out. His expression frightened me; he didn't appear to have any reactions to any stimulus at all.

I glanced inside the room, hoping to see the rest of the Moonlit Black Cats standing there. Unfortunately, the room was empty except for a solitary open treasure chest. I couldn't even imagine what must have happened in the room. All I knew was that Kirito would blame himself for their deaths.

I returned to the 30th floor, hoping to catch Kirito and make sure that he was okay, but when the light of teleportation faded away from my vision I couldn't see him anywhere. Kirito was nowhere to be seen. My shoulders sagged; he would be in a dangerous place. I was incredibly worried about his state of mind. "Damn it, Kirito… why won't you let me help you?" I shook my head. There was nothing I could do to help him right now. I could only wait until he would let his friends help him. Hopefully, he would be fine until he could let me help. I had confidence he would be able to survive; as the first Beater, he had amazing sword fighting abilities. I was worried that he would take one too many risks and fall. If he fell, it would start a chain reaction; the loss of one of the strongest players in the game would crush many spirits.

* * *

**September 12****th****, 2023**

I woke up, suddenly wide awake. I sighed; occasionally, I would just be up and it would be impossible to go back to sleep. It happened in Aincrad far more often than it did in the other world. The last time it had happened was on a long trip with a group of friends; we had gone camping over the previous summer. One morning, I was suddenly and totally awake with no hint of lethargy or sleepiness. It normally took an hour for me to fully wake up.

I checked my message inbox almost automatically in hopes that Kirito would have messaged me. As one of his closest friends, if he snapped out of his despondency he would likely contact me. As usual, I was disappointed. I sighed again; I seemed to be doing that quite a bit recently. I was lonely, plain and simple. Asuna and I were partying whenever she could get free from her duties as second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood. Occasionally, we would simply meet up for lunch. Her cooking skill had increased, leading to a variety of sandwiches. Sometimes, they were delicious. Other times, not so much. I didn't mind being her guinea pig, though, as she seemed to be searching for something. She would take extensive notes on the tastes she managed to evoke. In addition, the tasty meals far outweighed the disturbing ones as she got better and better at cooking.

I had picked up the Musical Instrument skill some time back, just on a whim. I wanted a skill that didn't entirely relate to stabbing something, or being able to dodge an attack in order to stab something. It helped that I used to play an instrument; I knew some of the melodies by heart and didn't mind playing them. It was strange, though. I had quit playing because I hated practicing and playing the instrument, and now I was grabbing at the chance to play it again. The system assistance for playing songs felt strange at times. To play a song, there were two options; select it from a list of popular pieces from a menu or simply start playing. If the system recognized the song you tried to play, it would take over. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about being 'taken over' to play the song. I still had feeling, and it felt like I was playing. It was as if my muscles knew how the piece went and played by themselves. I purchased a cheap fiddle and lute to play around with; they didn't provide any benefits but they functioned.

I had promised Asuna I would play for her eventually, though I didn't intend on making good on my promise until I had mastered the skill. A slight part of my conscience argued as I mused on the possibility of her forgetting about the promise. I certainly wouldn't mind not making a fool of myself. I wasn't even sure why I had made the promise in the first place; she had walked up behind me unnoticed while I was practicing in the square and had swiftly convinced me to play for her. I smiled, recalling the memory. It had been one of the few days she had managed to convince Heathcliff he could manage without her for the day.

For that matter, I was meant to meet Asuna around noon. She had managed to secure the afternoon off, and she had told me to find the two of us a relaxing quest to complete. I had managed to track one down that had only a small amount of fighting. It required more mental effort than physical, and with the two of us putting our minds together we would be able to finish it quickly and without many problems.

I stretched slowly, eradicating the feeling of lethargy from sleeping. Perhaps my sudden alertness was due to my subconscious keeping track of the date. I had nowhere to be until noon, and it was only 7:00. I checked my gear, finding no outlet for my restlessness there as everything was fully repaired and I had no plans to enhance my dagger in the near future. I had reached the point where NPC merchants were unlikely to succeed, and I hadn't found any good player smiths yet.

I roamed my room aimlessly until it was clear that I would have to leave or risk going insane. I wandered out into the town square; at this time in the morning, it was still sparsely populated. The early morning people were already out fighting, and the late risers were still asleep. I was in the sweet spot of just late enough to be more or less alone. The only thing I could do was play music, and I wasn't good enough to feel comfortable playing in public.

Fortunately, the town protective area extended to a small secluded grove where I often went to practice. Most people didn't hang around, as it was out of the way. I had found it one day by pure coincidence, doing much the same as I had done only an hour ago. I had just finished my early morning fighting and was returning to town to relax and purchase lunch. For no real reason, I tried to take a shortcut to the inn I was staying at, and managed to pick my way through alleys to the grove. When I broke through the small circle of trees surrounding the area, the peacefulness of the scenery lulled me into a relaxed state; I dozed through lunch and most of the afternoon. It was my favorite place to relax when I didn't want to be cooped up in my room. I sat under the shade of a tree, relaxing on a hill. It was peaceful, and I closed my eyes.

I didn't fall asleep, and after some time opened them again. I had managed to kill another hour making my way here and dozing, leaving me with three more hours to while away. I sat up, swiping open the menu and grabbing my lute. I hadn't played for a while, being too busy with fighting, and I figured that with nobody around it would be a good place to practice. Plucking one of the strings with my finger, I smiled; one good thing about playing instruments in Aincrad was that they never went out of tune.

I briefly scrolled through the list of songs, but closed it after flipping past several. I felt like playing an old folk ballad I had heard before; it had been written for the acoustic guitar, but by slowing the tempo some I could replicate the feeling more or less accurately. As I picked through the intro, I felt my fingers start moving by their own, increasing the tempo. The system had recognized the song I was trying to play and was taking over – I didn't fight it this time, and gave into the music. It had lyrics to the song as well, and closing my eyes, I started singing softly.

I had never trained my voice, so it was rough and sounded poor. Part of learning to play the instrument in the first place was a segment where I was given no sheet music and forced to learn songs by ear, however, so I was able to match the melody well enough. By myself, I sounded terrible, but when harmonizing with the music I could sound passable. I would never sing in public, though. I had some pride.

_Shadow-Lover, lead me into light…_The song trailed off into silence as I came out of the peculiar half-trance I fell into sometimes while playing. I sat back, eyes closed, just savoring the moment as the last chord echoed in the silence. Some songs affected me more than others; I typically avoided those songs as I often needed to be ready to fight at a moment's notice. But I wasn't needed until noon, and I could afford the luxury of feeling the music instead of just hearing it.

"That's a strange love song." Without looking or opening my eyes, I winced, clenching my eyelids harder. Asuna was far earlier than expected. A half-dozen different curses ran through my mind, though I chose not to let them escape into the air. I hated people hearing me sing, mainly because I was terrible at it and disliked people seeing me less than perfect.

I sighed slowly and for a long time. "You're early." I still refused to look, somewhat fearing her expression. I rarely played in public, and never sang, and I didn't want to see her mirth. "I didn't expect you until noon."

She giggled. "Heathcliff let me have the whole day off. He knew I was meeting you, and he chased me off when I showed up to work." I felt her sit down beside me. "I knew you'd be here, so I figured I'd surprised you. I didn't know you sang."

I groaned. "I don't." At least, not often, though I didn't add that bit.

She changed the subject lightly. "So who's this for? Someone I know?"

I cracked open one eye and glared at her. "I don't think you'll appreciate the answer, so I'll refrain from answering."

She shoved my shoulder. "Oh, don't be like that. I didn't mean to overhear you. To tell the truth," she smiled suddenly, "I liked it."

I opened both eyes and sat up. I was as vulnerable to flattery as any other person. "Fine, fine. It's a strange love song because it isn't one; the Shadow Lover is Death." I laughed at her expression. "No, I'm not contemplating suicide. It's just a nice slow song to play or listen to. We both court the Shadow Lover every day we're out there fighting on the front lines. It just hasn't seduced us yet." I vaguely wondered to the appearance of Death. Would It appear to be like the typical portrayal, a dark cloaked figure with a scythe? Or would it be someone I knew, leading me away? I shook my head, chasing away the morbid thoughts.

Asuna lied down beside me, relaxing under the shade of the tree as well. "Well, I intend to be around for a long time." She turned on her side, facing me. "I liked the song. Can you play another one for me? A little happier, though."

I sighed. "Yes, milady. Your humble minstrel at your service." Smothering a laugh, she mock-curtsied as I searched through the songs in the list. I couldn't find any songs that I felt like playing and closed the window. "Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any songs I'm in the mood to play right now."

She frowned. "What about the one you just played? I didn't recognize it among the popular tunes."

I shrugged my shoulders slightly. "That's because it's not popular. It was written about twenty-five years ago, and never caught on. It's part of a folk album, and those were never hugely popular." I stared off into the distance. "To be honest, I'm surprised the system recognized it in the first place. I've never played it before, I know that much."

"Well, if it's part of an album, what about the other songs?"

"I don't know… There was a slightly more upbeat song on there. I'll see if I can remember enough for the system to catch." I bent over the lute, frowning in concentration. I plucked at the strings slightly, but the intro didn't come to my mind. "No, that won't do." Suddenly, I remembered a song I had listened to often. "Ah, here we go. It's a faster song, and the melody is written really well." I started playing the playing the opening bars, but didn't play long before Asuna stopped me.

"Does this song have lyrics too?"

I froze, not entirely sure I liked where her question was heading. "Not this one, but I know others that do. Why?"

She gave me a quick hug. "Would you sing one of the others for me?"

I looked at her, frowning, and she smiled in return. I sighed. "I know when I'm beaten. Alright, but this is the last one. Let's see…" I searched my memories for a suitable song, and suddenly laughed. "This one is appropriate. It's about medieval mercenaries and the lives they lead." I started playing the opening bars, and this time I played long enough for the system to recognize the song and take over. When it did, I fell back into that trance I was in before. _So you want to go earning your keep with your sword, and you think that it can't be too hard…_

After that song, Asuna kept her word and didn't ask me to sing anything else; something for which I was grateful. I played some other songs that were purely instrumental, though none had the same effect as that first song I played that day. I was slightly surprised at the number of songs I remembered; after all, it had been several years since I had played them. After I was played out, Asuna brought out a lunch she had made for both of us. It was one of her better sandwiches, a repeat of one of the taste tests we both enjoyed. I ate contentedly, knowing I was with a friend.

After we had both finished our meal, I stood and stretched. "We'd better be off. That quest won't wait forever." Technically, now that we had accepted the quest it would wait until we had finished the objective, but the sentiment was the same.

Asuna joined me. "So where is it? You didn't tell me anything about it."

I pointed to the north. "About a thirty-minute walk that way, there are some ruins. We have to go in there and, I quote, 'solve the mystery of the ancient crystals'." I shrugged. "The quest-giver didn't have much information, but from what I gathered, there's not much fighting."

She sighed, relaxing slightly. "Good. As much as I like it, I need a break every now and then."

"That's what I was told to find, and find it I did. Shall we be off?" Sharing a quick grin, we set off for our destination.

By a stroke of luck, we didn't encounter any creatures on our way. After the peaceful walk, we arrived in front of the large and foreboding temple. I shivered slightly. "They certainly didn't do things halfway, did they?" The temple was half collapsed with age, rubble slightly blocking the entrance. The entire structure seemed ready to topple at any moment given enough reason, though the plentiful vines and foliage told me that it had been standing firm for quite some time. "At least we won't have to worry about it collapsing around us."

Asuna was familiar with my habit of speaking the end of a train of thought. "If it were Kirito, I'd be worried. He'd manage to smash the one pillar holding it up, wouldn't he?" The joke fell flat; I was simply reminded of Kirito's continued silence.

We stood outside the ruins for a while longer in silence before I shook myself. "Well, might as well get this over with. I wonder what's inside?"

I glanced over to Asuna, and she looked back. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?" She grinned suddenly. "Maybe there's a song about it. Check your repertoire again."

"Funny."

As we entered the abandoned temple, my eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom. The surroundings reminded me of the Labyrinth on the 26th floor; not an entirely happy memory, though not entirely painful either. I hadn't invested in the Night Vision skill, so my vision would be limited to a small range in front of me cast by the torches along the wall. They were lit, a small boon, though I was concerned about the possibility of being trapped in darkness. As we walked along, we drew together almost automatically, seeking reassurance that the other was there and prepared to fight.

Fortunately, we didn't have to fight, as we soon stumbled into a brightly lit chamber. A brazier was burning brightly, casting enough light to make me shield my eyes until they had readjusted. When I could finally see, the situation was absurd enough to be comical. The brazier wasn't the only thing providing light; a large glowing pillar of a purple gem was glowing softly. I shook my head – when a quest said crystal, they meant crystals.

Asuna seemed to be as awed as I was. "Wow." The simple statement belied the depth of emotion she had to the sight.

"Yeah." I took a closer look at the crystal; something about it seemed familiar. I walked around to the other side in an attempt to see more of the room, and suddenly laughed. "Oh, I know what this is."

Asuna hurried to my side. "What is it?"

I pointed to two other pillars rising from the floor, each my height. "It's a giant Towers of Hanoi puzzle. I never thought I'd see one of those."

Asuna glanced at me. "What's a Towers of Hanoi?"

"This." I said, gesturing to the crystal. "It's a certain pattern designed around shifting the tower from one peg to the other side. There are certain rules to follow, and there's a pattern you can follow to complete it in the shortest amount of moves possible." I scratched a formula in the dirt. Asuna came over beside me and glanced at it, though I could tell she had no idea what it meant. "With a tower this size…" I walked over to the tower and started feeling the base. I found a crack, and continued my examination. "We've got a tower with six pieces, so it will take…" I performed some quick calculations in my head and grimaced. "63 moves to shift everything. Asuna, could you step on both of the areas surrounding the other pillars?"

She complied, still confused about what I was rambling about. I had a strange habit of finding and searching for patterns in everything; the habit allowed me to follow and anticipate enemy movements, so I had no problem dealing with that particular neurosis. As expected, one of the rings surrounding the far pillar sank slightly when Asuna stepped on it. "Rythin, this one moved. Is that what you were looking for?"

"Yes, it is." I couldn't stop myself from grinning. "And now we can begin." I lifted the top piece of the amethyst crystal off. Suddenly, the inner glow of the gem died; I was startled, though kept moving. "See, the problem is," I placed the piece on the center pillar. "You can't have a larger piece on top of a smaller one." I went back and picked up the second piece off the close pillar. That piece lost its glow as well, though it didn't escape my notice that it started glowing pale blue when I placed it on the far pillar. I suspected the glow was a sort of hint as to whether the puzzle was being solved correctly; if I placed a piece not following the rules, I had a hunch it would glow dark red. I followed the pattern, grateful I had spent the time to learn it. "I learned this pattern when I wrote a program dedicated to solving it."

Asuna had grasped the pattern to my actions quickly and was assisting me as we talked. "A program? I didn't know you wrote code."

I shrugged. "It's what I like. It's probably what I'll end up doing after I graduate college." I smiled sadly. "At least, that's what I would be doing. I'm not entirely sure I'll still want to after this."

She glanced at me. "College? Don't tell me you're one of those geniuses who got accepted when they were fifteen."

I laughed. "No, I'm not special. I'm in high school right now; I'd be a senior right now if I hadn't been caught in Aincrad. But I'm not really disappointed. I've got a new life, now. It's strange, you know…" Asuna looked at me inquisitively, gesturing for me to continue. "I'd be turning 17 today. I'd be in class, ignoring my birthday as usual, and nobody would know or care. But here, it means I've survived almost a full year."

Asuna smiled. "You're 17? You're not that much older than I am." I laughed. That wasn't what I expected her to focus on in that conversation. "I'll be turning 16 in two weeks." I wasn't as surprised by this news; I was a few inches taller than she was, and I expected to be older as well. What was surprising was the ease with which the two of us talked about our ages; we had gotten closer than I expected. It was as if I blinked and I had a new friend.

As we moved the last piece into place, the entire crystal sank down several inches and started glowing gold. I watched the puzzle impassively. "Well then. That was unexpected."

A sudden crunching sound caused us both to whirl around and search for the source. What we had assumed to be a wall had turned out to be a closed door that was currently sliding down. I bit down a curse, and Asuna sighed. "That scared me." I nodded; it had scared me as well. We walked forward into the darkness, leaving behind our discussion of the other world.

After some time in the darkness, we stumbled into another open area. I was glad to see the light; I wasn't all that fond of the dark. I felt cold; my face must have been pale, though Asuna glanced at me and said nothing. This new room was similar to the previous one, with a glowing gem in the center of the room. This gem, however, was glowing a deep green; I determined that it represented emeralds. If there was a pattern and it kept up, the next room should be something like rubies or diamonds. It might roughly follow the value or rarity of each gem.

I wandered around the room, but I had no clue what the puzzle was supposed to be. "Asuna? Are you seeing something I'm not?"

She was across the room, staring at something I couldn't see. "I might be. Come over here and take a look." I crossed the room and joined her, staring at the point where her finger pointed. A small glyph was carved into the stone; however, I had no idea what it meant. It seemed to mean something to Asuna, however, as she muttered to herself and paced around the gem, leaning in close as if searching for something. I entertained a passing thought that I was seeing how I must act when I was tearing at a problem. As time wore on, I watched her more than the stone itself. She had gotten used to her new uniform, wearing it as if it had been hers her entire life. I realized my own outfit was only a small thought in the back of my mind; the first few days after I received it I kept fidgeting with it every now and then. I assumed that, as with all things, time wore on and we became accustomed to it. I certainly could find no trace of the embarrassment Asuna had felt the first time she appeared wearing her uniform.

Suddenly, Asuna stopped pacing and leaned forward, almost touching her forehead to the stone. "Rythin?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor. Press firmly on that first sigil." I followed her order without question; I trusted her, and it was likely she knew what she was doing. I could tell what she expected had happened, because she made a small noise that indicated she was pleased. She pressed at the spot she had focused on, and suddenly a door slid open in the far wall.

I was surprised. "What did you do?" I stopped just outside the entrance to the darkness. She stopped with me, content to explain herself.

"It's something my dad uses to store important documents. It's almost like a trick desk – if you press on certain places in the right way, a secret area pops open."

"Huh. I never would have found that." I couldn't have found the secret that easily; I would have missed the two pressure spots. It was a good thing I had Asuna as a partner to help out.

We started walking through the darkness, and I couldn't stop my nerves from going haywire. The torches were completely gone by that point; the only way I knew which way to go was by the help of the walls. The walk felt longer than the other ones as well, and the longer I stayed in the darkness the worse I became. I started breathing more harshly, as it felt like I was getting less and less oxygen with each breath. The only thing that kept me from immediately teleporting out was Asuna; I didn't want to appear scared of the dark.

It was strange; for the first part of my life, I had never been frightened of the dark. I never needed a nightlight as a child, and I was comfortable simply lying in bed falling asleep. When I was seven or eight, though, suddenly this strange fear of the dark came over me, and I would begin to feel nervous whenever I was forced to be out at night or move about in darkness. I chalked it up to having watched one too many horror movies, but it was still very sudden and often caught me by surprise. It came in waves as well; at about the start of high school, three years ago, the irrational fear had started to diminish. As a result of being trapped here and having to be constantly on guard, the familiar fear had returned.

Suddenly, her voice floated from the darkness. "Rythin?"

It took me a few seconds to remember how to speak. "What?"

"I'm not too fond of the dark. Could you hold my hand?" I had a feeling that she was doing that for my benefit, as I would never ask that question myself. I had too much foolish pride. Her voice sounded calm and confident, without the quivering or shaking that signified terror or fright. I knew that if I spoke more than a few words, my voice would betray me.

Gratefully, I reached out beside me and felt Asuna take my hand. Hand in hand, we walked through the darkness, and I felt calmer and more self-assured. With someone beside me and the knowledge that they would stay there, the darkness seemed to recede slightly and I could breathe again. I resolved to pick up the Night Vision skill fairly soon, in order to avoid another breakdown like this.

Eventually, we came to a third room. Asuna let go of my hand, both of us holding to the pretense that she was the one scared of the dark. Rather than look at her and embarrass myself further, I devoted my attention to the center of the room, where a large diamond shone. Unlike the other two rooms, where the gem was large, uncut, and as tall as I was, this diamond was cut. It was equally as large, and a small part of me wondered if it would be possible to chip a piece off to sell. It would fetch an amazing price on the market.

Asuna and I spent several minutes circling the stone and peering at it. Neither of us could find anything special about it, though something about the appearance kept nagging at me. "Asuna, don't you think it's weird?"

She looked at me from across the huge gem. "What's weird?"

I gestured in the direction of the diamond. "This. It's cut, unlike the others."

She frowned in concentration. "Now that you mention it, that is weird." She poked at the diamond with the tip of her rapier. "I wonder if the puzzle has something to do with the shape of the carving."

"It could be." I tried to get a better view, but I couldn't see anything from this angle. "Asuna, could you see if there's anything from above?" She jumped up to see better as my gaze wandered around the room.

"It's some sort of arrow pointing toward a wall." Her voice surprised me; she had come up behind me as I was searching for a clue in our surroundings. "We should probably check that out."

I shrugged. "I've got nothing, so we might as well." I followed her to the wall the gem was pointing at, and stood in front of it. "So….what should we do now?"

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe we knock it down?"

"So violent. Might as well give it a shot, though." I approached and activated a Martial Arts skill, slamming my fist into the wall. I didn't meet the expected resistance as my fist went through a paper-like substance, losing my balance and falling through the hole I had made. Hearing Asuna's giggles behind me, I stood up with as much dignity as I could muster and turned to her. "Well? Shall we?" She took my offered hand and stepped through the hole, nearly tripping herself.

"That was different." She glanced up at me.

"You don't say. Anyway, we should be done pretty soon. I can't think of any gem rarer than diamond." She frowned, confused. "The crystals were following a general pattern, getting rarer in each successive room." She made a noise of comprehension and agreement.

I turned back to the passageway behind the false wall. Fortunately, this path was brightly lit and I didn't feel any panic. Asuna sighed, and I glanced over to her. She noticed my concern. "It's nothing, Rythin. I just really enjoyed this."

I laughed. "There's nothing stopping us from finding another quest like this one." We continued walking as we chatted. "I enjoyed our time together as well." It might have been my imagination, but I thought Asuna had blushed slightly. I chalked it up to the torchlight playing tricks on my eyes.

We came to the end of the passageway and emerged into another chamber much like the other three. This chamber had no large crystal, but instead smaller, more refined crystals were scattered everywhere. There were several emeralds and amethysts around a raised pedestal. On that pedestal were two large diamonds – each worth at least 50,000 Col. I exhaled, suddenly realizing that I had been holding my breath. I took a tentative step toward the pillar and when nothing broke or triggered a trap, I strode up to the dais with Asuna at my side. We each took one of the diamonds and grinned at each other. I briefly entertained a thought of getting the diamond turned into jewelry of some sort or otherwise selling it, but dropped the idea. I decided to hold on to the diamond until I could find some way to turn it into equipment, possibly a form of reinforcement for my gloves to support my bare-handed fighting. After all, I didn't need the Col with my steady income from Argo, and quest rewards were always valuable.

I was the first to break the silence. "Well then, I suppose we should be off." Asuna murmured agreement, and I continued. "We should meet up sometime for lunch. No dungeons or quests, just talking."

"I'd like that."

I smiled. "Send me a message and I'll try to meet you, okay?" She smiled in return, and we pulled out teleportation crystals and teleported back to town in unison.

* * *

**December 24****th****, 2023**

It had been six months since Kirito's guild had been wiped out. According to Argo, whom I had asked for information just several hours earlier, Keita jumped off a balcony when he heard of the massacre…and Kirito's involvement. Keita claimed that if Kirito had told the guild he was a Beater, they would all be okay. It was a shame, really. The guild seemed so carefree and happy. I wished that I could have met them before they were killed.

As for Kirito, I hadn't talked to him for the full six months. He showed up at every boss floor meeting, stronger than the floor before. He was getting stronger quickly, and I felt I knew the reason why. There was an extra boss appearing at midnight, and there was an unconfirmed rumor that defeating the boss would drop a revival item. I assumed Kirito wanted the item, though I couldn't begin to guess which member of the guild he would revive. He seemed close to Sachi and Keita, and I wondered which one he would pick. Whenever I tried to approach him after a meeting, he would walk away. Being somewhat antisocial myself, I could understand not wanting to talk to others; I would often avoid people if I didn't feel like talking about things. Kirito, though… he would avoid everybody at all times. I hadn't heard him say anything since the Moonlit Black Cats had been destroyed. It was as if he had already died, and was just waiting for his body to catch up. His eyes were the most terrifying part of him; they were dead and lifeless. I felt chills every time I looked at him.

In Kirito's absence, I had been meeting with Asuna more often recently – especially after our adventure in the ruins a few months back. We had been talking often, meeting for lunch occasionally in addition to partying with her for dungeon raids. I enjoyed her company; she didn't complain, leading me to assume she enjoyed my company as well. Her cooking had been getting better and better – her sandwiches were much better than the standard inn fare. Lately, we had just been meeting for lunch or dinner and simply talking; commiserating over a dungeon dive that went worse than expected or joking about the antics of a play we had seen together.

At the moment, I was at a floor meeting on the 49th floor. The topic was defeating a particularly nasty field boss that was stymying all efforts to enter the Labyrinth. It was a formidable foe, and I had no clue how we could possibly defeat it. The Holy Dragon Alliance seemed to have a plan, though, and one of their members was detailing the plan. I was only paying partial attention, enough to hear and remember his words but not enough to actually understand them. The majority of my attention was on my thoughts. I could always go back after the meeting was over and run through his plan in my mind from memory.

A beeping sound made me come back to reality. Blinking and having no idea what the speaker had said for the past ten minutes, I looked to see who the sender was. Upon seeing Argo's name, my eyes narrowed. I had asked her to keep an eye on Kirito and let me know when he bought information; this was the first time she had messaged me about it. I broke through the speaker's words. "Why are we here, exactly? It's Christmas. Let's just take the day off." Not waiting to see anybody's reaction, I pushed my way through the crowd and out onto the streets.

As a nod to the date, the streets were covered with snow and Christmas lights. "Very festive," I muttered. The message Argo sent me told me to meet her by the largest Christmas tree on the floor. I made my way through the town, heading toward the center clearing. It wasn't hard to navigate, especially since the large Christmas tree stretched above the houses. I arrived at the specified meeting place, and sat down next to Argo.

I didn't waste any time. "What did he want?"

She glanced at me. All I really could see was the movement of the hood, but I assumed at the cause of the movement. "He wanted to know everything about Nicholas the Renegade." The boss that would drop the revival item. "All I know is that he spawns under a fir tree. He seemed to know where."

"Alright. Thanks, Argo. How much do I owe you?"

She waved away my question. "No charge. I'm worried about him too." She stood up. As she left, she turned back to me. "He's been power leveling dangerously, you know." I had guessed, but that only confirmed my suspicions; he wanted to solo the boss.

As much as I wanted to rush to Kirito's side, I knew I would be useless. I was one person, and he was stronger than I was. Trying to stop his suicide mission was tantamount to suicide of my own. Swallowing my pride, I sent a quick message to Klein. In it, I told him of Kirito's goals. I just hope he could stop Kirito. I didn't want Kirito to throw his life away. With luck, Klein would be able to give Kirito his guild's support. Fuurinkazan was skilled at fighting; they were routinely fighting on the front lines. If they were by Kirito's side, he would be safe. Regardless of Kirito's wishes, I knew Klein wouldn't let Kirito get himself killed.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I glanced up to see Asuna's concerned face, and looked back down, sighing. "Hey, Asuna." I was so wrapped up in my own worries that I hadn't noticed her leaving the meeting, following me, or approaching. It was a good thing I wasn't out in the field; I would have been dead in seconds.

She sat down beside me. "Rythin." Her hand still hadn't left my shoulder. "Is it Kirito?"

"Yeah. As far as I can tell, he wants to solo Nicholas the Renegade." Her gasp of shock didn't escape my notice. "He hasn't talked to you either, has he…?"

"No, he hasn't. I don't know what's wrong." She leaned closer. "Rythin, please, tell me."

I shook my head. "No. This is something he has to tell you himself. I can't do that for him." It was the least I could do – I knew Kirito wouldn't accept pity from Asuna or anyone else, and if she knew the truth, that's all she would give him.

"You really are a good friend."

"If I was a good friend, I'd be there right beside him." My voice held traces of anger and sadness. "Instead, I'm sitting safe in town, hoping he survives. I'm not a good friend, Asuna. I'm just someone he helped him out a while ago."

"Are you my friend?"

I smiled slightly. "Of course I am." I valued her company a lot – I could relax around her.

"Then I think you're a good person, however much you try to hide it."

"That's why I sent Klein in my place. Hopefully, he'll be able to give Kirito the help I can't."

"And I think you're helping Kirito right now by telling Klein where to find him." Asuna touched my arm. "I wish I was able to help him right now."

I glanced at her touch. "I'm sure you can help him when he returns." I smiled at her. "You're helping me, at least."

It might have been my imagination, but she seemed to redden slightly. "Yeah…" She leaned against my shoulder, relaxing. I stiffened slightly at the unexpected physical contact, but relaxed. I glanced over at her and smiled. She looked so comfortable lying there. She sighed contentedly. "This is nice."

I chuckled. "If we keep meeting like this, people will talk."

She raised her head and looked at me. "I thought they already were." She smiled at my sheepish grin. "I've heard the rumors too."

"You aren't offended?"

"Why would I be? You're nice, smart," she grinned mischievously, "not bad looking…"

"Ah, talk about damning with faint praise…"

She giggled. "You know what I meant." She trailed off into silence. We sat comfortably together for some time. We must have made a strange pair; the lovely Asuna with her chestnut hair and hazel eyes, and me. I was normal in every way except for my grey eyes – not many people had eyes that color. I noticed a trio of male players glaring at me from across the courtyard. As long as they didn't bother me, I had no problem with ugly looks being thrown my way. "Hey, Rythin?"

"Yeah?"

She fidgeted slightly. "I was wondering… that maybe…" she looked down, face red, "…those rumors don't have to be…" She looked away.

I looked down at her. "What about the rumors?" I asked calmly. The Asuna I was looking at was nothing like the Asuna I knew; she was no longer calm, collected, or confident. Right now, Asuna seemed almost as shy and skittish as a kitten in a new home.

She looked at me, still avoiding direct eye contact. "Maybe….they could be true?"

Silence.

I sighed, a long slow exhale. I looked down into her eyes; they shined with a mix of hope and fear. Hope that I would say yes. Fear that I would say no after she placed her heart on the line. "Asuna…." She clung to my arm. "I had no idea you felt this way." It certainly explained some of her actions. I placed my arm around her, hugging her close. Just the simple act of coming in physical contact with her made me want to pull away, but I managed to restrain myself. "You're one of the smartest and strongest fighters I've ever met. But…"

She looked at me. "But?"

"But sometimes, you say something so foolish I wonder how you came up with it." She pulled away from me in shock, hurt by my dull tone as much as my words. "How could you possibly find someone like me attractive? I'm weak, useless, I'm by no means physically attractive–"

"Stop it…" she whispered. I stopped talking and turned slightly to look at her. She was leaning forward, hair falling forward and obscuring her face. "You don't mean that…"

"I'm afraid I do. You deserve someone better than me." I laughed bitterly. "Unfortunately, that leaves most bachelors in Aincrad." I looked straight ahead, afraid to look at Asuna; I was afraid that if I had looked back I wouldn't be able to say no a second time. I wasn't the person she needed – I wasn't good enough for her. It hurt to say no to her. She was a friend, after all, and I didn't want to see a friend hurting. "I can't be what you want me to be."

"I see…so that's how it is…" Despite myself, the broken tone of her voice made me glance sideways. She was leaning forward in the same position as the last time I looked. She turned to me, and tears were running down her face. I swallowed – my resolve was dangerously close to breaking. If I broke down and accepted her proposal, I would hate myself even more for being weak. I could feel my barriers being stripped away by her tears. "I'm sorry it didn't work out." She stood up, tears streaming from her eyes.

I stood as well, reaching for her. "Asuna…"

She jerked away from my hand, stepping back. "I'll see you later, Rythin." She turned and walked away, not looking back. I had a feeling she was still crying. I chased after her briefly before losing her in an alleyway. I returned to the bench by the Christmas tree.

I sank back down into my seat, not really understanding what I was seeing. I laughed bitterly. In one day I lost both of my friends. Kirito was running off to commit suicide, and Asuna had left crying after being rejected. I couldn't be more pathetic if I had tried. The only person I had left to rely upon was myself, and that was a risky business at best. I was weak and useless; my only strength was in my talent for reading patterns, and that was getting riskier and riskier. I had almost died on the 26th floor because I had been surprised by an enemy I didn't have enough time to learn. With bosses, I had one chance to win and I just wasn't fast enough to win.

"Hey. You." The rough voice made me look up from my stupor. Three players were standing in front of me, their faces shadowed by the glowing Christmas tree behind them.

"What do you want." My words weren't intended to be a question.

The man in the middle grabbed me by the lapels. "You made Asuna cry." I assumed they were fans of the popular second-in-command of the most prominent guild. Most people were; I was one of her closest friends, though possibly not right at that moment, and even I admired her the majority of the time.

I sighed. "Is there going to be an issue? I'm not in the best of moods right now."

"Of course there's going to be an issue," the man on the right snarled. He drew back his fist and punched me in the face. The force of the punch surprised me; it had been some time since I was struck like that. I sprawled on the snow-covered ground in a small degree of shock. The blow hadn't hurt – Aincrad didn't simulate pain – or lowered my health at all. Due to the fact that I was still within the AREA, or the Anti-Criminal Code Affect Area, I would take no damage from any attacks. It still stung like my face was on fire, though.

I welcomed the stinging. The stinging woke me from my stupor. It woke me to the sadness riling inside my stomach.

It woke my anger. I stood up, eyes gleaming in the shadows, and walked slowly toward the trio that were harassing me. "You really shouldn't have done that," I growled. "I told you, I'm in a bad mood." The three backed away slowly. "And now you've gone and let me know just how bad it is."

The player in the middle raised his hands in a pacifying manner. "Look man, we didn't mean anything by it." I had been told before that when I got truly angry, my eyes became as cold and bleak as ice. I hoped that they were intimidated by the sight; the one person who had seen me that furious told me that she was frightened.

"Save it."

The fight was brief and brutal. My training of the Martial Arts skill had taught me how to fight; I had ingrained the movements to muscle memory. Even without the system assistance a Sword Skill provides, I was still more than a match for the three players. They were most likely tourists; weaker players that had just arrived to explore the latest floor. I assumed they had come to celebrate Christmas by the large tree. I launched myself toward the middle player; taking him out quickly would most likely crush the fight of the other two players. I led with a left straight jab toward the man's sternum, the crushing force enough to double him over even without the pain. I followed up with an uppercut, slamming my right elbow into his chin. Spinning around, I lashed out with a right leg sweep, striking the back of the player on the left. He fell forward into the snow, allowing me to focus on the remaining standing person – the one who struck me in the beginning. The blow he struck was reminiscent of the blows I took sparring back when I was training in karate. I had a feeling he had trained his Martial Arts skill as well. I grinned ferally. This might be a real fight after all.

He charged, striking swiftly. I fended off his blows, but didn't strike any of my own. His face was filled with rage, unlike mine; his rage controlled him, rather than lending power to his blows as my fury empowered me. I waited for the perfect moment – at some point, he would overextend or miss a blow, and that would be my chance to strike. I didn't even notice I was laughing until he shouted at me. "Stop laughing!" His anger made his skill give way to brutality. He started hammering at my defense, trying to break it down rather than attempt to circumvent it. That was the opening I had been looking for; one of his strikes was slightly wide. I redirected his blow, slipping through his guard and getting in close.

"You got angry. That means you lose," I whispered. Using my speed, I slammed blow after blow into his chest. The punches themselves were weak, as Sword Skills were only allowed in town during duels, but the sheer amount of them were punishing. I finished off the beating by stepping back. He sank to his knees, clutching at his chest. I knew that I hadn't hurt him, but the tingling caused by the physical blows must have numbed his chest to the point where he was unable to feel his heartbeat. I lashed out with a roundhouse kick, slamming the point of my boot into his chin. He sprawled out on the snow, completely stunned.

The bell to signal midnight rang slowly, its tolls echoing out from nowhere. I stood over the three trembling figures of the players that tried to harass me that night. I reached down and lifted one of them up to eye level. I raised a fist, ready to continue. "You really shouldn't have bothered me. My friend…" I stopped. Kirito's face flashed in my memory – he was on the first floor, drawing every player's hate on himself so that the beta players would fit in with the rest of the population. He would be disgusted at my actions right now; I was acting exactly like the old beta players, beating on the weaker players for my own enjoyment. I was disgusted at my actions. I was just as weak as I had always been; I just found someone who was weaker than I was to take out my frustration.

I dropped the player I was holding and he backed away quickly. He gathered the other two players and they bolted, trying to get away from me. I sank onto the ground, laughing hysterically. I was even more pathetic than before the whole debacle with Asuna. I laughed and laughed, ignoring the odd looks I received from people passing by. I was lucky I was wearing a coat or the news that one of the people heavily involved in planning and executing boss raids was currently experiencing a mental breakdown would be spread as though it were a wildfire. That was something that still mystified me whenever I chanced to wonder about it; my armor was still more recognizable than my username. My laughter died down as I regained control of myself. Breathing heavily, I staggered into a nearby alley and sank down the wall. I chuckled slightly at myself. I checked the time; it was five in the morning. I had lost all track of time while having my hysterical fit.

A message notification cut off all sense of mirth. I opened it up; seeing the sender's name, I caught my breath. Klein had sent me a message – checking the time, I saw that it was past time for the bonus boss to spawn. I quickly read the message, dreading the worst. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded, although the news was very close to being as bad as it could possibly be. According to Klein, Kirito not only survived, he managed to get the revival item – a miracle in itself. The problem with the item was simple; it needed to be used within ten seconds of death. It was useless for Kirito's purposes. He had given it to Klein and walked off, eyes blank. Klein was worried about him.

I pulled up Kirito's location on my map and headed in his direction. I arrived at his location and entered the inn where he was staying. I walked up the stairs and knocked on his door. "Kirito? You doing okay?" I was met by silence. I hadn't been granted permission to enter and I wasn't in a party with him, so I was unable to do anything but stand outside the door. I waited a little bit longer, and left after Kirito hadn't replied. "Merry Christmas, Kirito."

I walked outside among the empty streets of the 49th floor. I wandered aimlessly, asking myself if I had done the right thing by rejecting Asuna. If I had done the right thing by not helping Kirito. If I had done the most I could to save Kirito's guild… The questions kept bubbling up to the surface, keeping me from seeking the solace of sleep.

The sun had come up; in my wanderings, I had wasted six hours. The things possible when your body felt no pain, cold, or exhaustion. I had wandered around time for the majority of the morning, and I still had no answers to any of the questions that plagued me.

I frowned, exhausted from my mind being unable to rest. I expected this outcome eventually; the numbers were fully in favor of this particular choice. Every person had an ulterior motive, and I must have found Asuna's reason for wanting to be near me. The only thing that was still a mystery was Kirito's reason for calling me a friend; I couldn't find a reason in any of his actions that I scrutinized. If he had attempted to cheat me or kill me at the beginning of the game, that would have given me a clue; instead, he helped me survive until I could struggle along on my own.

I sighed, regret tinging my exhalation. It was a shame that Asuna ran off before I could explain the real reason I had to turn her down. Everything I had said was the truth, but she deserved to know the whole truth. I resolved to talk to her the next time we had a day free, but I didn't see it happening any time soon. Her quick getaway did not bode well for our relationship. Through misplaced affection, I had let a powerful connection slip from my grasp.

I sent a quick message to Kirito asking him to reply when he was feeling better. I didn't expect a response; the message was solely to keep a connection to one of Aincrad's strongest fighters. Betraying my expectations, Kirito sent a reply almost immediately after I sent the message. He most likely had been composing the message before he received my concern. I quickly read through its contents. Kirito reassured me that he was okay and apologized for causing me worry. I almost felt guilty, having him apologize to me for my failings. I stopped myself, forcing those feelings down where I could no longer feel them. The most dangerous part of opening yourself to others was the chance they would take advantage of that openness. I decided that I would take a break from taking part in boss raids; I had no need for other weapons and I didn't need or want the attention. It was a shame that I had to distance myself from the world, but that was the result of everyone else distancing themselves from me.

I couldn't be hurt if I didn't care.

* * *

**A slightly different take on 'Red-Nosed Reindeer', from someone other than Kirito's perspective. How they must have felt when Kirito became suicidal. I also threw in some interaction between Rythin and Asuna, as a tool for characterization and as an explanation for how they got so close so quickly.**

**Also, many thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited, or left a review!**


	5. February 23rd, 2024

**Chapter 5**

* * *

**February 23****rd****, 2024**

Loneliness was a strange concept.

In theory, it was perfect. There would be no gaps in my armor, no weaknesses to prey upon. I would be invulnerable to any kind of emotional pain. After the events over Christmas, I had retreated from the world and built a shell to defend myself. I carefully covered any holes in my emotional barrier. While my retreat hadn't been physical as Kirito's had been – I had no interest in getting myself killed – I had mentally withdrawn from every person in this world with me. To avoid being hurt again, I simply refused to allow anyone close.

It was simple, really. My first layer of protection was isolation. I purposely drove away others with silence and my curt demeanor. Few, if any, were willing to put forth the effort of reaching out to me when I refused to accept their hand.

If that failed, or I was forced to interact with others, my next layer of defense was sarcasm and wit. I hadn't been able to keep my resolution to avoid the boss raid planning sessions; there was nothing else that could keep my intellectual attention otherwise. After several fights, I had gathered enough of the monster patterns so as to keep myself alive; after several more, I had those patterns memorized and could dodge them without thinking about it. The motions of the fight had become ingrained, freeing up my mind for other tasks. As such, I couldn't lose myself in fighting for more than a few days at once. To avoid getting injured while not paying attention and being caught by surprise, I found myself attending the boss meetings regularly once more. Asuna had taken over my typical role of tactician, creating and implementing the battle plans that we would follow. She didn't have my particular talent at creating the plans, though she did well enough. For my part, I would do nothing more than snipe at other players, inserting sly comments after they said something particularly stupid, although each comment could be used to further any plans being made at the moment. Asuna and I were at heads more often than not, usually after I mocked a weakness in her plan. I could feel the gap between us widening after every chill argument, though I didn't particularly care.

I calmly walked away from the Gate, not even waiting for the glow of the teleport to fade before stepping off the platform. Most people would move out of my way through politeness, though there were some who would not notice me. Fortunately, the path I intended to take was clear and I encountered no difficulty making my way to the exit of the town. As I passed by the players milling by a store, I glanced at my reflection in a window as had become my habit. The only change to my equipment that I had made after my last upgrade was my gloves. I had found a player by the name of Ashley; a promising tailor, she had taken the large diamond I was still carrying around and managed to create a pair of gloves out of that and some snake leather from the 45th Floor. I rather liked the fingerless gloves, actually; chunks of the diamond, cut and polished, gleamed from the knuckles and the fingers and gave be a small boost in damage. Ashley had somehow managed to make the cracks between the scales in the leather gleam as well. I had no idea how she did it, but it did make for a stunning appearance.

I approached the exit to town and noticed a loud commotion coming from the gathered players. I wandered closer, curious as to the cause of the noise. A weaker player, most likely from around the thirty-fifth floor or so, was begging other players to avenge his guild. He was pleading for someone from the assault team to bring justice to the ones who had ambushed his party and killed most of his friends.

Justice was a laughable term. Impassively, I turned and continued on my way. That was not my problem and I had no intention of making it my problem.

There was only one problem with my decision, however. From behind me, I heard Kirito's voice talking to the sobbing player. Something inside me cracked slightly, and I turned to see what was happening. I sighed and made my way to the two players. Kirito looked up as I approached, and his eyes widened slightly. "Rythin?"

I didn't lose my calm or my poker face. "Kirito," I responded coolly. "A pleasure." Ignoring his suddenly concerned expression, I turned to the player. I assumed he was the de-facto leader of his guild, especially if the rest had been killed. "I hear you've run into some sort of trouble?"

He sniffed and nodded. "I…my guild was ambushed. They were the orange guild Titan's Hand." He looked at me and Kirito with desperation. "They killed everyone but me. Please, you have to help."

Kirito glanced over in my direction. "Rythin, I'm going to help him." His expression was suddenly cold. "Nobody should be killing other players in this game. Ever." His sudden vehemence surprised me slightly.

I only raised an eyebrow as an outward expression of my surprise. "Oh? In that case, I must accompany you." I smiled slightly – I could tell by Kirito's shudder that the expression never reached my eyes. "I've grown so bored – nothing is a challenge any more." I chuckled. "Tracking the patterns of a player, now that should be fun." Kirito winced but didn't say anything. The player started crying again in happiness and thanked us profusely. He handed Kirito a Gate Crystal, telling us that it was already keyed to the jail on the first floor.

As part of their duties, the Army managed a sort of jail on the first floor, co-opting a cleared dungeon for their purposes. I wasn't entirely sure how the jail was supposed to work as I hadn't visited the first floor since leaving in the first place; I had no intention of learning how it worked, either.

Kirito made his way back to the Teleport Gate, I following him at a safe distance. He kept glancing back in my direction, concern plain upon his face. I didn't make any overture so as to learn why he was concerned; other people were no longer a variable in my calculations. The only thing that mattered now was ensuring that the probability of my survival was as high as it could be when it mattered. He stopped in front of the gate to wait for me to catch up. I walked unhurriedly – if the Titan's Hand guild had stuck around their hunting grounds after ambushing another guild, it wouldn't matter if I rushed to start searching for them. And so I sauntered, taking my time. "So, where to?" I asked as I reached his side. He didn't answer right away, instead choosing to create a party and invite me to join. I stared at the prompt; the last time I had been in a party with Kirito he had protected me as we traveled to the boss's room on the 26th floor. The old memories stirred deep within and I ruthlessly crushed down any hint of remorse or camaraderie. He had betrayed me by trying to get himself killed; why should I have cared if I hurt him in return?

I accepted the request without saying anything and Kirito let out a sigh. He pulled out a crystal and called out the name of the 35th floor. I nodded and followed his lead; I assumed he had some knowledge of where to start looking. If we didn't know where to start, it would be nearly impossible to find the Titan's Hand. Our only chance would be to find where the Silver Flags had been ambushed and start asking questions.

As the light cleared from my vision, I watched Kirito step down and start walking. I caught up to him quickly. "Where are we going?" There was no need to be impolite; being rude would only make this task longer and less pleasant. Although I had retreated inside my shell, I still maintained an outward appearance of civility until someone said something moronic within my hearing; and even then, I only mocked them at a boss meeting, where everyone was on the same level, more or less. I wasn't so removed as to harass someone stronger than I was, a stance that had served me well in my freshman year of high school.

Kirito looked around, completely stymied. "The leader could be anywhere. How do we know where to find him?"

I briefly wondered if I had given him too much credit for planning this out. "Or her." I decided to lead him to the solution I had already found – this simple manipulation had worked before and would likely work again. "You are certain they're on this floor?" I asked.

Kirito nodded. "Yeah. This is where the Silver Flags got ambushed." Suddenly, he smiled. "Actually, they were ambushed in the Forest of Wandering. We should go check that out." I nodded, content that he had followed the trail. In fact, he grasped the answer faster than most would have; Kirito was no fool.

"They'll likely be looking for more targets out in the field. Good thinking, Kirito." With a destination in mind, we quickly made our way to the forest. Before we left, I equipped a cloak almost out of habit – I also liked how it fluttered in the wind occasionally. I rationalized it by telling myself that it covered the armor I wore constantly; I would be more or less anonymous until I unequipped it. The Forest of Wandering was a somewhat dangerous Field Dungeon. Every minute after a player had set foot in the Forest of Wandering, they would be transported to a random cell. Each cell was formed by the large fir trees in the area which acted as a wall of sorts. To exit the Forest, a player had to make their way through cells of the forest in under a minute; Teleportation Crystals only moved a player to a random cell. Once inside, it was difficult to leave unless you had purchased the expensive map in the shop in the nearby town. Both Kirito and I owned a map – I had picked it up the first time I visited.

We had a destination – we would search for the guild in the Forest of Wandering. However, finding the guild proved to be a much harder task. The two of us searched for any other players almost aimlessly, picking our way through the Forest. Night had fallen and we had searched the Forest several times, each time coming up with nothing. We were currently on our tenth run-through; we didn't bother killing mobs, choosing instead to leave them for the weaker players trying to level up. Out of common courtesy I kept my speed limited to that of Kirito's; there was no sense in leaving him behind only to realize that one of us had stumbled upon Titan's Hand without the other.

Suddenly, a scream rang out through the woods just as we had entered a cell. Without thinking, Kirito launched himself forward in the direction of the scream. I followed him a few seconds later, catching up to him without much effort. When I paced myself beside him, Kirito looked at me. "Rythin, you handle the scream. I'll look around in case Titan's Hand is here." Without listening to any arguments I may have had, he peeled off into the trees.

No longer constrained by politeness to Kirito's speed, I sped up until the forest was a blur. Weaving in and out of trees, I raced forward, searching for the source of the scream. Suddenly I broke into a clearing – I had passed through the cell and was in a new area. I took in the details at a glance; three Drunken Apes, the strongest monster in the Forest, were standing in a curve surrounding something I could not see. Without hesitating I drew the Nightblade and rushed toward them. The center Ape was raising its club, preparing to strike. I quickly slashed through each of the Drunken Apes in quick succession, prioritizing the middle monster. Even though the Nightblade did limited damage aside from the poison, I was high enough of a level so as to kill them almost instantly. They shuddered briefly and exploded into polygons.

As they dissipated, I saw what they were surrounding. A young girl with brown hair tied into two ponytails stared at me. I didn't recognize here; her equipment was standard, a simple yellow outfit with a small bit of armor plating. However, the look in her eyes was dangerously familiar. It was a look I had seen before. It was a look of complete and utter despair. A look that said this person had lost someone important to them very recently.

The last time I had seen that look was when Kirito exited the trap room after the destruction of the Moonlit Black Cats.

I stood motionless, unable to move or speak. The memories of what had happened were still raw, and I was frozen for a moment. After making a determined effort, I shoved the memories back where they belonged and sheathed my dagger. Kirito broke into the clearing beside me and took in the scene at a glance.

The girl sank down slightly and started to cry. "Pina…" She scooped up something in front of her. "Don't leave me all alone here…" She brought it to her face and began to sob. "Pina…."

Kirito sheathed his sword and took a step toward her. I wanted to back away, wanted to leave the clearing, but I couldn't make my body move. Kirito took another step. "What's that feather?"

"It's Pina," the girl managed to choke out between sobs. "My best…friend…"

Both Kirito and I inhaled sharply. The girl must have been a beast tamer. I was reminded of my own cat that I had left behind. He was the one creature that loved me unconditionally; and that I loved equally as much. I hadn't thought about him for over a year.

I suddenly realized that no matter how bad things got, I would always have him. So what did it matter if I made and lost a few friends along the way? That was life. I didn't make friends easily; Kirito and Asuna had been the two people I allowed close to me for the first time in several years. Everyone else I held at arm's length because I didn't want to bother with them. One of the barriers I had put up between me and the world shattered. Kirito still wanted to be my friend; I was the only person standing in my way. I realized that he didn't know why I had isolated myself. He hadn't meant to hurt me like that. If anything, he would have felt guilty, knowing he caused me pain. I owed to him – and myself – to forgive and forget.

I came out of my brief trance to hear Kirito speaking. "…chance you can revive it." I had missed a few minutes of their conversation, but I knew what he was talking about. Occasionally, a familiar – a monster a player had tamed by feeding it instead of fighting it – would leave behind an item when it died. If it did, a special flower on the 47th floor called the Pneuma Flower could revive it.

The girl sniffed and looked at Kirito. "Really?"

I walked up to the pair, crouching next to the girl on the opposite side. "Yeah. There's a rare flower on Floor 47." Kirito looked at me, but didn't say anything. "There's a Field Dungeon called the Hill of Memories. The flower growing there at the top can revive familiars."

The girl turned and smiled, losing all trace of sadness. Suddenly, though, her face fell. "Floor 47, huh?"

Kirito rubbed the back of his head. "We'd be able to get it for you, and all you'd have to do is pay for the trip. The thing is, the flower won't bloom unless the familiar's master is there." I could tell Kirito was genuinely regretful that he couldn't help – I was sorry, but there was nothing I could do about it.

The girl turned to him. "Thank you so much for telling me about it. If I work hard to raise my level then some day I could –"

Before she could say anything else, I interrupted her. "There's only one problem." She turned back to me, confused. "The revival flower will only have an effect within three days of the familiar's death." Her eyes widened in shock and started shimmering with tears.

"No way… It's all my fault… I'm so sorry, Pina…"

She was about to start crying again when Kirito stood. "It's okay." He turned slightly to hide his menu. "You have three days." He tapped his menu – from where I stood, I couldn't see what he was doing. "Take this equipment." A trade screen appeared in front of the girl. I glanced at the name – she was named Silica. The list began filling with higher level mob drops, items to upgrade her current equipment. "It should boost you five or six levels." He was speaking in terms of ability to fight, naturally; her actual level wouldn't change. "And if we tag along, I'm sure everything will work out."

"Why would you do all this for me?" Silica's question echoed my own thoughts. I knew Kirito helped out weaker players – I was proof of that – but he always had some reason to do so. He helped me because we had become friends; he helped the Moonlit Black Cats because they gave him a family.

He turned, slightly startled, and put his hand up to cover his face. I had a feeling he was about to say something embarrassing, and I couldn't wait. "I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to laugh. That goes for you too, Rythin, okay?"

"I promise I won't." Silica was determined.

"I never make a promise I won't keep."

Kirito scowled at me, but sighed. "All right… It's because you look like my little sister."

I blinked briefly before starting to snicker. Silica started giggling as well, and Kirito turned away from both of us in a brief faking of disgust. His confession had broken the somber mood, as well as given us something to smile about.

Silica managed to control herself. "I'm sorry." Rubbing her eye to catch a tear of mirth, she tapped the pay button of the trade window. "Uh… I know this isn't enough Col to pay you back, but…"

Kirito interrupted her. "No, it's cool. Besides, it works with why we're here. We'll be helping each other out."

"Okay then, my name's Silica!" She stuck out her hand.

"My name's Kirito, and this is Rythin. I guess we'll be working together for a little while." Kirito shook her hand, and I waved and smiled when she looked at me.

As we set off to leave the Forest, Kirito came up beside me. "It's good to have you back, Rythin" was all he said before going to walk with Silica. I frowned, confused by his words briefly, before shrugging them off and joining the rest of the group.

Silica was a dagger-user, just like I was; I gave her a few tips, though I was unable to help much as my style relied on the Nightblade's special abilities. She seemed to appreciate the advice, however. I noticed Kirito giving me strange looks occasionally, though when I looked at him questioningly he never said anything.

About an hour later, we entered the largest town on the floor. As we walked along the main streets, a male player cried out. "Hey look, it's Silica!" Silica stopped and looked around as two players rushed up. One was short and stout and the other was tall and thin. They made a strange pair.

The short one was the first to talk. "It took you a long time to get back. We were getting worried!"

The other player had been the first to cry out. "You wanna team up with us? We'll take you wherever you wanna go!"

Silica looked at the two and took a step back, a little overwhelmed. "That's really nice of you to offer, but, um…" She trailed off and looked at Kirito and me. We were standing a little farther on, watching the conversation curiously. She reached over and grabbed our arms, clinging onto us as if we were life rafts. I only kept myself from wrenching away by telling myself that she didn't know I hated being touched. "Well, I've sorta already agreed to be in a party with them, so…"

The two players turned as one and glared at us. Kirito chuckled nervously and I merely raised an eyebrow. Silica starting walking, still holding onto our arms. "'Kay, later, bye!" As we walked away, I could feel their glares stabbing into our backs. After we lost them in the crowd, Silica apologized profusely. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that."

I shrugged as best as I could with one arm and carefully slipped my arm out of her grasp. "It's fine. But please, in the future, don't touch me." I realized that sounded harsh and quickly added, "I just don't like physical contact. It's nothing personal."

Kirito laughed. "Silica, I didn't realize you had fans. You must be popular."

For some reason, Silica frowned. "No… They don't take me seriously. They want me to be their mascot." I could see that. She was cute, in the still-young sort of way. If I had a younger sister, I imagined she'd remind me of her strongly. I could see where Kirito was coming from. "Maybe they're right. They call me Dragon Tamer and I guess… it went to my head."

Kirito turned and patted her head. "Don't worry about it. We'll make it in time, promise."

Silica smiled shakily. "Okay." She rubbed at her eye. "Do you two live around here?"

Kirito shook his head. "I'm on Floor 50. It's kinda far, so I was thinking of getting a room for the night." He glanced at me, indicating it was my turn to hold the conversation ball.

"I just sleep wherever. I don't have a specific place I like to stay." Kirito hadn't told her his real level and I kept mine secret as well. Ingrained habits of never sharing personal details helped a lot. "I do have to admit, I've never stayed here."

Silica smiled. "If you stay, I'll take you out for some cheesecake. It's really good here." It was obvious she was infatuated with Kirito by the way she watched him constantly. Her face lit up when he smiled at her, and I grinned mentally. That was his third conquest so far; fourth, if you counted Argo. My earlier comment about personal space had prevented her from forming any sort of feelings toward me – I had expected that to happen, actually. It was a common occurrence when a player rescued another; the feeling of gratitude just kept growing stronger. It had happened to me before, though never with anyone I was all that fond of. I simply turned her down and went on my way. That was back on Floor 17.

A new voice broke my thoughts. "Well, if it isn't Silica." Silica looked down, all traces of happiness gone immediately. I studied the new arrivals closely. The one who had spoken was tall and… well-endowed, shall I say. Her red hair covered one eye and she had a spear leaning against her shoulder. Three other players were with her, though she was obviously the leader of the group. "Wow… you made it out of the Forest alive. Good for you, girl."

Kirito looked at Silica, noticing her sudden change in temperament. He leaned forward. "Something wrong?" he whispered in her ear.

Silica looked up and quickly grinned. "Oh, no, nothing." She looked like she was going to say something else, but the spear-user had reached the three of us.

"Hang on, what happened to your little friend the lizard?" She leaned forward. "Did it run away?" It was possible for tamed monsters to leave or even attack their tamers if the hidden friendship stat dropped too low.

Silica looked away. "Pina died saving me." Suddenly, she stared straight at the woman. "But I'm gonna get Pina back."

"Really?I guess you'll be heading for the Hill of Memories, then." Her voice was taunting – she enjoyed seeing Silica squirm. "I wonder if you'll be able to clear it at your level."

Seeing Silica frown, Kirito stepped forward, partially shielding her with his body. "Of course she will."

I did the same. "It's not that difficult to level."

The woman sighed. "Oh, god, this girl's seduced some more men." The choice of words didn't escape my notice, and I frowned. "No it's not difficult, but you don't look that strong." Her taunting tone aside, she had a point. Neither Kirito nor I wore any sort of heavy armor or uniform, the sign of strength these days. Our relative youth didn't help matters either.

"C'mon." Kirito muttered, leading Silica away from the other player. I studied her briefly, looking for anything off about her; long-term paranoia had kicked in. I was treating any unknown as hostile until proven otherwise. That attitude had kept me from being ambushed before.

After we gained some distance from the player, Silica seemed to regain her previous cheer. I cleared my throat, gaining her attention. "So who was that? You didn't seem thrilled to see her."

Silica sighed. "That was Rosalia. I was in a party with her before I stormed off and tried to get out of the Forest on my own." There was nothing I could say to that, and I let the matter drop gracefully.

Before long we arrived at the inn that sold cheesecake. An NPC waitress took our orders; Kirito and Silica ordered a slice of cheesecake apiece. I had never enjoyed any sort of cake, and didn't order anything. "Why does she have to be so mean…" murmured Silica, staring at the flame.

"Well…" I was at a loss for words. I wasn't sure if Silica was referring to Rosalia in specific or her type in general.

Kirito, though, had something to say. "Is Sword Art Online your first MMO?" At Silica's nod of assent, he continued. "A lot of people's personalities change when they play games online. And some actually like playing the game as the bad guy." He fell silent for a moment, then continued. "You see how our cursors are green?"

Silica nodded, and I took up the conversation thread. "If you commit a crime, such as stealing or attacking another player, your cursor turns orange. The first few times, it goes back to being green after a period of time. But after the fifth time it turns orange, it stays that way forever." I had avoided having my cursor turn orange thus far.

Kirito frowned. "Then there are what's called a Red Player. The worst, also known as Player Killers. They're all about murder."

Silica gasped and the flame of the candle on our table danced. "They kill other players?"

Kirito nodded. "In a normal game they roleplay as the bad guy, have some laughs, and it's cool. But, Sword Art Online isn't normal." I grinned; there was a contender for Understatement of the Year. Kirito's grip on his mug tightened. He was barely controlling himself. "It's definitely not a game."

Silica stared at his hands. "Kirito?" She sounded frightened.

Her trembling voice snapped him out of whatever memory held him in its grip. He looked down. "I'm sorry." An awkward silence filled the table. I wasn't going to say anything private in front of Silica – she had no right to know either of our histories.

"Well, I think you're good so…" Silica leaned forward across the table, catching Kirito's hands in hers. "I mean, you saved me after all."

Kirito looked surprised for a moment – had he not noticed her infatuation? Then he grinned. "Looks like you cheered me up instead." His grin softened. "Thank you, Silica." He was doing everything right…if he wanted her to stay infatuated.

Silica's face suddenly turned bright red as she realized her position and I barely kept myself from laughing in her face by biting my tongue. She jerked back into her seat and started fanning herself. "Wow, where the heck is our cheesecake already?" She called over to a waiter. "Excuse me, our dessert hasn't shown up yet!"

I glanced at Kirito's face – he was absolutely clueless. At his expression, I had to cover my mouth with my hands so that they wouldn't notice the gigantic grin currently forcing its way onto my expression. I managed to control myself after they received their cheesecake and started eating. I briefly wondered if the entire trip was going to be like this.

After dessert, we each headed to our separate inn rooms. I didn't bother going to sleep – I had a feeling Kirito would be knocking on my door soon. Instead, I pulled out the lute I hadn't touched for just over two months. I hadn't played it since before Christmas, and it was about time to play again. I selected a slow ballad from the menu and just let my mind wander as it played. Music helped me think occasionally, and I had plenty to think about. As I was playing the ballad, someone knocked on my door. "Rythin?" It was Kirito's voice. I finished playing the ending to the ballad and stood up.

"Come in, Kirito." The door swung open and he entered. As it shut behind him, I gestured to the chair by the window. "Have a seat."

He sat down and faced me, not saying anything. I patiently waited for him to open the conversation. After a while, he did. "Why did you freeze me out?"

I sighed. "That's the million dollar question, isn't it? Look, I'm really sorry about that. The thing is, it was the perfect storm." He looked confused, and I elaborated. "You went out, trying to get yourself killed, and for what? To talk to someone who was dead?" I ignored his flinch. I was being cruel, but there was no other way to say this. "You never asked for help, from any of us."

He looked away. "It was something I had to know. I'm sorry, Rythin. Really, I am." He looked at me again. "But that doesn't explain why you froze me out for all of January."

I flinched. "It was you and Asuna. I don't doubt you've noticed that she and I aren't exactly getting along?" He shrugged, and I nodded. "It would be difficult to not notice that. Well, that's because she asked me out and I turned her down." I held up a hand to forestall his next question. "Don't ask me why. I can't tell you." I paused for a moment. "Yet." I grinned slightly. "I don't know if you've figured it out yet, but I don't get along with people well. That particular secret is one I can't share with you yet."

He sighed. "Well, when you can, please tell me."

I nodded. "I promise."

We sat in silence for a bit until Kirito broke it. "I need to go over a few things with Silica about Floor 47. You're good at explaining." It was clear he wanted me there.

I grinned. "Ah, but you're so much better with the ladies than I am." Nevertheless, I stood up from the edge of my bed and stretched. "I'll come, though. I was getting bored."

We made our way to Silica's room and Kirito knocked. "Silica, you still awake?"

From within, I could hear a panicked "K-Kirito?"

Kirito continued. "I forgot to tell you some stuff about Floor 47. But it can wait until tomorrow." I glanced at him and he shrugged.

"No, now's fine!" I heard Silica's footsteps approach the door. "Actually, I was just thinking I should ask you about –" Suddenly, her voice cut off and I couldn't hear any footsteps. After about thirty seconds, the door opened and Silica let us in. She immediately sat down on the bed, clutching at the hem of her nightgown. Kirito walked over to grab a table, and I sat down beside her.

I studied her face for a second and then grinned. "You almost opened the door first, didn't you?" Her squeak and attempt to hide an increased blush told me that my guess was right. I laughed.

Kirito looked over from where he was setting up the table. "What's up? Something wrong?"

I shook my head and Silica squeaked again. "No, nothing," she said, waving her hands wildly. She looked for some way to get out of the moment. "What's that thing do, Kirito?"

Kirito tapped the top of the object and it started to glow. "It's a Mirage Sphere." The object let out a blue glow and started forming the map data of the 47th floor. I pulled out my fiddle and started playing. Kirito glanced at me, but understood what I was doing and nodded.

"It's pretty…" I laughed at Silica's comment. I chose to believe she was talking about the Mirage Sphere's illusions.

Kirito pointed to a spot on the map. "This is the town area of Floor 47." He reached through the hologram, tracing a path. "And that's the Hill of Memories. I was thinking, if we take this route we can – " He suddenly cut off, glaring at the door. At his nod, I started playing louder. I was attempting to create enough noise that he could make it to the door without anyone noticing. Unfortunately, the sudden increase in the volume of the music would have startled any eavesdropper.

Silica looked at the two of us. "What's wro –" she began, only to be silenced by Kirito's finger.

Suddenly, he took off at the door. Slamming it open, he leaned out into the hall. "Who's there?" He glanced in both directions, but frowned and closed the door. I ended the song I was playing and joined Kirito and Silica in the hall.

Silica looked concerned. "Who was it?"

Kirito was staring at the stairs. "An eavesdropper."

"But they can't. I mean, you can't hear through a door unless you knock first." The three of us walked back inside and Kirito closed the door behind him.

I shook my head. "If your listening skill is high enough, you can. It takes practice. Not that many players bother."

"But why would anybody want to listen to us?" Instead of answering her question, Kirito met my gaze. We both knew why someone would want to listen to our plans – to create an ambush. The only question in my mind was whether or not it was Titan's Hand. A part of me wanted it to be that guild, just so that the job would be done. Another part wanted it to be just some idiot who was going to try to ambush us – they would be easier to deal with.

I shrugged. "Who knows?"

Kirito took my hint and closed the Mirage Sphere. "Anyway, this is no big deal. We can take care of it in the morning. In the meantime…" he looked at me, mischief in his eyes. "You've been holding out, Rythin."

I tried to play innocent. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Silica was looking back in forth between us, completely confused.

She had enough. "Kirito, what are you talking about?"

Kirito didn't break eye contact with me. "Rythin here is an accomplished musician."

I winced. "Is there any chance I can avoid having to play more?" Silica's sudden gaze of admiration told me there was no possibility of avoiding it. "Fine, fine." In all honesty, I didn't mind playing for a small audience so long as it was composed of my friends. I pulled out the fiddle again and started playing another song. The impromptu concert lasted until I got tired. When Silica asked if I sang, I lied cheerfully, claiming that I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. The mood was happy when Kirito and I finally took our leave, returning to our own rooms for the night.

* * *

**February 24****th****, 2024**

The glow of the teleportation faded away into a bright sea of colors. Beside me, Silica was amazed; flowers were everywhere. Petals of all different colors floated through the air lazily with no destination. When I had visited this floor before, it always struck me as strangely peaceful for being nearly halfway through the game.

"This place is like a dream…" Silica's voice drifted to my conscious awareness. I grinned but didn't say anything. The flower gardens were pretty.

Kirito looked down at her. "I know. The whole floor is covered with flowers. That's why they call it the Flower Garden." Silica was more or less ignoring him as she spun back and forth, trying to take in the sights. She giggled and ran over to the nearest flowerbed, crouching down to smell the flowers.

Kirito and I watched her indulgently. Something caught my eye, however, and I leaned over to Kirito. "Hey, Kirito." He looked over and I continued. "This floor is filled with couples. I think it would look weird if the two of us were escorting Silica." He nodded and I got the impression he wasn't entirely sure where my train of thought was leading. That was perfect for me. "As such, I'll be waiting just before the end of the AREA. Enjoy the walk, Kirito." I walked away, laughing at Kirito's sputtered protests.

It wasn't long before the two joined me, Silica walking just behind Kirito. Ignoring her questioning look and Kirito's glare, I calmly fell in step beside them. As we were about halfway across the bridge, Kirito stopped and held out a blue crystal to Silica.

She just looked at it. "What's that for?"

Kirito's voice was solemn. "If anything bad happens while we're in here, Rythin or I are gonna tell you to warp out, okay?" I doubted anything would happen, but safety was better than regretting hubris later. "When we do, use this crystal. You can jump to any town with it."

Silica appeared frightened. "But…"

"No buts." My face was as impassive as it could be. "Use it."

Silica's face fell. "I understand. " She took the crystal and placed it in her pouch without any further argument.

Kirito started walking again. "Let's get going. If we take this path, it'll take us right to the Hill of Memories."

As Silica stared at his receding form, I leaned over. "Don't worry about it. We'll make sure nothing bad happens. Kirito and I just want to make sure you'll be safe, okay?" She looked up at me, face no longer shadowed. I grinned at her and walked off to catch up to Kirito. I heard her start running to catch up – even my walking speed was faster than that of most players.

As Silica and I joined Kirito, an awkward silence fell. Kirito was looking straight ahead, walking with purpose. I was hanging back just to his left – if anything happened, I wanted to be able to draw the Nightblade and use it immediately. If I were right-handed, I would have taken a position to his right. Silica got closer to Kirito. "Um, Kirito –"

Before she could say anything else, two vines snaked out and wrapped around her legs. A Mandrake had risen up out of the flower beds to our right and captured her. Hoisting her upside down, she seemed more concerned about keeping her skirt right-side up than freeing herself. The Mandrake opened its mouth and roared, and Silica screamed. Struggling and flailing wildly with her dagger, she tried to work herself free to no avail.

"Calm down! That thing's not that strong!" Kirito called out. I was torn between laughing and helping her out and so did neither – I justified it to myself as seeing what she would do.

Silica was still flailing about, one hand holding her skirt down. "Help Kirito, save me. But don't look. Save me, but don't look!"

I lost my battle to contain my mirth and began laughing. Kirito covered his eyes with one hand and muttered, "That'll be…difficult." A small smile was creeping onto his face as well.

"Darn you…. Put me down!" Silica finally snapped out of her panic. As the Mandrake held her in the air, she swung to the side, slicing through one tentacle. As it roared out, she sliced through the other one and freed herself. She activated a Sword Skill on her way down, piercing the center of the mob's head and killing it instantly. Silica landed rather gracefully in the flower bed and straightened up, turning to look at us self-consciously. "Did you see anything?"

Kirito had covered his eyes fully. "Not really…" I merely made a gesture, hands raised and palms up. As usual, I kept silent. I didn't like talking in large groups; I could only talk comfortably when it was one on one or I was discussing a battle plan. Silica was blushing slightly. I had, fortunately, managed to control my laughter before she killed the Mandrake. She rejoined us and we set off.

As we walked and fought, Kirito and I made sure that Silica got every kill. When possible, he would use the flat of his blade and I would use a Martial Arts Skill to stun the monsters, allowing Silica to rush in and take the kill for experience and Col. After the fight, I would give her pointers on how to fight better with her dagger. She seemed grateful for the advice. The first time we were attacked, she stopped still, frightened as two monsters resembling Venus Flytraps attacked. Kirito calmly knocked them away with his sword and stepped aside to let Silica fight. She did well, moving quickly and only staying as long as she had to in order to ensure the monster was dead.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, Kirito, but…" Silica spoke softly as we were walking along a stretch of empty road. "What's your sister like?"

"Why do you wanna know?" Kirito probably didn't intend to come off as sounding harsh, but his voice was flat.

"Well…you said I look like her." Silica looked at the ground. "I know it's not polite to ask about your real life, but…" She looked up. "What's she like?"

Kirito sighed. "I call her my little sister, but she's really my cousin." I could tell this was a sensitive subject, and I kept my peace. I could tell he needed to talk to someone about this. Silica made a sound of confusion, and Kirito continued. "We were raised like brother and sister since we were babies, so I doubt she even knows." His voice was dull. "But I know." I had heard that same lack of inflection before, but not in his voice. I knew it typically hid a huge regret or pile of guilt – I had a feeling that my voice sounded the same when I was feeling helpless about Kirito's situation over Christmas. "And I guess that's the reason I avoided her."

Kirito kept looking straight ahead. "Our grandfather's really strict. When I was eight, he made us take classes at the local kendo dojo." That little nugget of information told me why Kirito was so comfortable with his sword – he really had grown up using one for most of his life. "But after a couple years, I stopped going." Kirito's voice fell. "Grampa beat the hell out of me for that."

"That's awful." Silica said what I was thinking. I hadn't known how to express my emotions, and so remained silent as usual.

"Anyway… then my sister stood for me and told him to stop. She said she'd train hard for both of us. And she did. She trained hard. She even made it to the nationals."

"She did? How awesome!" Silica smiled, but her expression faded to that of concern when Kirito didn't reply right away.

"Yeah… I've always felt guilty for putting her through that. I wouldn't doubt it if she hates me. God knows she could have been doing something else." Kirito smiled sadly. "Maybe that's why I wanted to help you. In a weird way, it makes me feel like I'm paying her back." He sighed. "There it is."

"If you don't mind me saying…" Silica began hesitantly, "you're wrong. I don't think she hates you at all." She ran in front of Kirito, stopping. "She wouldn't work that hard for you if she didn't like you, honest! I bet she even loves kendo."

Kirito smiled. "There you go again, making me feel better." He tilted his head slightly and gazed off into the distance, as if he could see his cousin's face. "Maybe you're right. Man, I hope so."

Silica blushed, and turned around quickly. "Okay, then. I'm going to do my best too!" She stepped forward, and a red light shone from the ground. Suddenly, six grasping feelers that looked like tentacles rose out of the ground. A Land Anemone had been waiting for an unwary traveler to step on it. The large purple plant mob rose in the air as Silica screamed. "Kirito, help me!"

Without hesitating, Kirito drew his sword and sliced through the mob in one blow. It swelled slightly and then burst into polygons. I calmly walked forward and caught Silica as she was falling. Kirito turned, sword over his shoulder, and grinned. Silica started laughing too, but suddenly grabbed her skirt and tugged it down. I had inadvertently caught her in such a way that she felt she was revealing something. I set her down safely, and she stood there, face red. "Thanks, Rythin."

I made a mock bow. "Anytime. But please, watch your step. I've heard there might be monsters hiding on the path." I grinned sardonically, the mocking tone of my voice gone. "I was lucky to catch you this time. Next time, you'll probably fall and hit the ground."

We went on our way. Silica had managed to level to 45 by the time we had a moment to breathe. I wondered if she was going to ask any more questions to Kirito. This time, however, I was to be the target of her inquiries. "Hey, Rythin?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you helping me?"

I grinned. "Kirito's my friend." I gestured in his direction. "I don't really need any more reason than that. But so as to not sound callous, it's because you saved me back in the Forest, in a way." It was remarkably easy to talk to Silica – she was a good listener. "Before we came across you, I had retreated into a shell to….hide from the rest of the world, let's say."

Kirito glanced over his shoulder, but didn't say anything. He could tell I needed the catharsis. Silica looked at me, confused. "What do you mean, hiding from the world?"

I faced ahead, staring off into the distance. I chose my words carefully. "I had been…hurt very recently. I thought I had lost two of my very few friends." I grimaced. "I didn't want to feel that pain again. Instead of resolving to find a way to fix things, like you and Pina, I just told myself I wouldn't ever allow anyone near me again."

"But you did… why?"

I smiled. "Like I said, it was you. When I saw how upset you were about losing Pina…" I trailed off.

"Pina was my best friend…"

I nodded. "I know what that's like. I have a cat back at home – his name's Emmit." I grinned. "He's a good kid, and I miss him a lot. When I realized you'd lost a… pet, for lack of a better word, of your own, I thought about how much I missed him. The shields and barriers I had placed to keep the rest of the world out shattered when I realized I was only fooling myself." That wasn't the whole story, obviously, but I didn't feel quite ready to talk about it.

Silica looked over to me. "Can I give you a hug? I know you don't like being touched, but I think you need one."

I laughed. "I think I can handle the contact this once." She smiled and gave me a hug. It did feel nice to know someone enjoyed my company.

The rest of the trip was spent in comfortable silence between the three of us. The only things we talked about were fighting techniques and strategies for fighting mobs. Silica did well – neither Kirito nor I had to rescue her again. At last, we came upon the ending of the path. Kirito stopped, and Silica looked around. "Is that reviving flower around here?"

Kirito pointed up ahead of us. "Yeah, over there." Silica ran ahead of the two of us and we followed at a more leisurely pace. As we reached her, she was standing over the pedestal. It was glowing with a golden light, and a flower was quickly blooming. As it finished blooming, the glow faded. "Go ahead, pick it up." Silica nodded and carefully reached in and plucked the flower. It transferred to her inventory, and she smiled.

"Are you sure it'll bring Pina back to life?"

Kirito nodded, smiling. "Uh-huh."

Silica sniffed the flower. "I'm so glad."

"There's many stronger creatures still waiting around here," I said. "It would be best to wait until we returned to the town to revive Pina."

Silica smiled. "Okay."

The three of us made our way back to the bridge where Kirito had given Silica the Teleport Crystal. We didn't run into any more monsters, having cleared the path the first time through. As we stepped onto the bridge, Kirito stopped and placed his hand on Silica's shoulder to stop her. Both she and I looked at him curiously, though I had a sinking feeling I knew what was about to happen.

"Is something wrong?" Silica asked.

Instead of responding to her question, Kirito raised his voice. "Whoever's hiding out there, come out. Now." I bit my lip; we were going to be 'ambushed'. I had faith that Kirito and I could handle things, but Silica would be in danger. I took ahold of her shoulders and carefully steered her behind the two of us, by the edge of the bridge. She would be relatively safe there, especially as anyone who wanted to get to her would have to go through Kirito, followed by me. Anybody who could make it past Kirito would be wounded enough for me to take down without resorting to the Nightblade – I wanted to keep that a secret for as long as I could.

From behind a tree, Rosalia stepped out. Silica gasped. "R-rosalia?"

"If you saw through my Hiding skill so easy, your Detection skill must be really high, swordsman." She glanced over to Silica. "Ooh, it looks like you were successful at getting your hands on the Pneuma Flower. Congratulations." Her fake smile and voice didn't fool me, and I prepared myself for action. Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed. "Now, hand it over before you get hurt."

Silica was confused. "What are you talking about?"

Kirito shook his head. "No one's handing anything over, Rosalia." He shifted his weight slightly as Rosalia approached the bridge. "Not to you." Kirito's tone hadn't changed at all – he knew he could handle whatever she threw at him, and he trusted me to keep Silica safe. "Or the orange guild." His eyes narrowed. "Or should I say, Titan's Hand? You're their leader, right?"

Rosalia stopped. "Nice."

Silica turned to me. "But Rosalia's cursor is green!"

I snorted. "It's an easy trick. The green members find their targets and lure them into an ambush. The orange players do all the dirty work, and the green members don't change color. That way, they can find more victims." I raised my voice. "Isn't that right, Rosalia? You just charm your way into leader of a party then lead them straight to your guild members."

She nodded. "Oh, you're very good."

"That was one of your pals eavesdropping on us last night, wasn't it?" demanded Kirito.

Silica was looking back and forth between me and Kirito. "Then, the reason you were in that party with me and the others was to…"

Rosalia shifted her weight to her right, narrowing her eyes. "How perceptive. I was observing their strength and watching them earn all that beautiful money." She licked her lips – I was slightly disgusted. Silica drew back slightly. "You were who I was excited about, and I was so sad when you left the party." She started caressing her spear. "But then you told me you were getting a rare item." She straightened up, staring at me and Kirito. "What I want to know is, if you knew about us, why did you bring her here? Are you dumb? Or does she have you wrapped around her finger?"

I laughed out loud, evidently surprising her. Kirito shook his head. "Nope, you're wrong both times. See, we'd been looking all over for you, Rosalia."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember ten days ago? You attacked a guild called the Silver Flags?" Rosalia didn't give any sign one way or another, choosing instead to twirl her hair around her finger. "The leader survived. Four didn't."

"Oh, the losers with no money."

Kirito glared at her. "The leader went back and forth, from warp point to the front lines, morning 'till night. And with tears in his eyes, he begged everyone he met to avenge his dead friends."

I grinned ferally. "But he didn't want you to die. Oh no. He wanted you to go to prison. Personally, I would have said dead or alive, but he wanted justice."

Kirito stared at Rosalia. "Do you have any idea how she felt?"

"Can't say I do." She placed her hand on her hip. "Only idiots take this seriously." I was at a loss for words – it wasn't every day I was presented with a congenital idiot. "So what if we kill someone here? There's no proof dying here means you're dead IRL." She smirked. "Anyway, it's time you started worrying about yourselves." She snapped her fingers, and about ten other players stepped out from behind trees where they were hiding. I checked the color of their cursors and smiled. Every last one of them was orange. If I had to guess, the entire guild was here to welcome us.

Silica stepped back, terrified. "Kirito, there's too many of them. We should get out of here."

He turned back and grinned. "Don't worry, you'll be safe if you stay here. Keep the crystal handy until I say so."

Silica sniffed. "Okay…but…" Kirito stepped forward, walking toward the orange players. She looked up from rummaging through her pouch and gasped. "Kirito!"

Every member of Titan's Hand stiffened. I heard one player repeat Silica's cry, making sure he had heard correctly. Kirito simply unsheathed his one-handed sword and kept walking. "Dressed in black… one-handed, no shield…" The player turned to Rosalia. "Holy crap, it's the Black Swordsman. Rosalia, that guy – he's the Beater who plays solo on the front lines! He's with the assault team!"

I walked up beside Kirito, ignoring Silica's gasp. I stood next to him casually, crossing my arms. "Oh my, Kirito. You have a title. I'm jealous."

He glanced over at me. Neither of us was taking the other players seriously. "You have one too, you know."

I turned to him, completely ignoring the assembled players. I hoped to provoke them into attacking. "Really? I'll have to ask Argo. Or maybe these kind players would recognize me and save me some money." I turned and removed the cloak I had been wearing to cover the Crawlerpede hide I always wore.

The same player swore. "Him, too?" I waved to the man, and I thought he paled. "Diamond-laced gloves and blood-red scale armor… that's the Diamond Tactician. They say he's the smartest player in the game!"

I laughed. "Oh, you flatter me. Unfortunately, that gets you nowhere." I turned to Kirito. "Really? The Diamond Tactician? That's what's been going around?" He nodded and I shrugged. "Ah, it could be worse."

"I don't hear you complaining about the smartest player thing."

I grinned. "False modesty has never been my style, Kirito. You should know that by now." Kirito sighed and resumed walking as I took up a deceptively lazy slouch against the railing of the bridge.

Rosalia snorted. "I've heard of him. They say he's that Asuna's boy toy – that he does whatever she wants."

A sudden spike of anger surged through my veins and I pushed myself off the bridge to stand next to Kirito. "Well, what do you know? That's worse." I looked at Kirito. "Kirito. She's mine." He nodded.

"Why would two players from the assault team be all the way down here?" Evidently, Rosalia was tired of our little show. Kirito calmly took a peculiar stance at the edge of the bridge – I recognized it as the stance for the Battle Healing skill. I smiled to myself; I had a good feeling I knew how this was going to play out. I moved to the side slightly; enough to block the entire bridge and give Kirito the room he needed. "Go on, take them out! And take everything they own."

The orange players didn't need any more encouragement. They all activated their Sword Skills at once. I was briefly surprised; evidently, knowing their secret meant we had to be killed. The players charged me and Kirito as one, shouting. He didn't even bother defending himself, allowing their slashes to land unhindered. I didn't have the Battle Healing skill, and so instead I simply dodged every one of their attacks. It was easy, really – they weren't attacking in concert and their attacks were pathetically easy to predict. I had no problem dodging the various attacks. I mentally counted down the seconds until Kirito's Battle Healing took effect; once that happened, we could go on the offensive. Seeing all their work turn to nothing would demoralize them.

It became fun, actually; the players were obviously not working with each other. I usually only had to dodge one attack at a time, and it became a game to me. One player slashed diagonally at me; I calmly leaned to the left. That put me in another player's path, and I stepped backward to let his glowing sword pass in front of me. They were becoming tired; at the beginning, they had at least made an effort to time their attacks. I sensed another player behind me and used my right foot as a pivot point, spinning off to the side and letting his lunge pass by me harmlessly. One player attempted to hit me with a horizontal slash; I allowed the system to take over and used the Acrobatics skill to flip over his blade. Adding an insult to the injury, I reached down and pushed off his blade, unbalancing him and using the added momentum to complete my flip in midair, landing perfectly balanced and ready to dodge again.

After about 30 seconds had passed, the orange players all stood in a rough circle, panting with exhaustion. They had tired themselves out striking at the two of us to no effect; both Kirito and I were at full health. "What the hell, you idiots?" Rosalia shouted. She was not happy. "Kill them already!"

"400 in ten seconds, give or take." Kirito looked around at the circle of bandits. "That's about the total damage the seven of you can inflict on me." Rosalia's face was a portrait of anger and fear. "I'm level 78. I've got 14,500 HP. My Battle Healing skill auto-regenerates 600 points every ten seconds." He narrowed his eyes. "We could stand here all day and we wouldn't get anywhere."

One of the swordsmen behind growled. "That's not possible!"

I turned and stared sharply at him. "Go ahead and believe that. I don't have Battle Healing, and none of you managed to touch me. That's the problem with level-based MMO's – if your numbers are high enough, you're invincible."

Kirito raised the Gate Crystal. "My client spent his entire fortune on this warp crystal and he'll get his money's worth." He looked around him, and every member of Titan's Hand flinched. "It's been set to the coordinates of the prison. And I'm sending all of you bastards there!"

Rosalia looked around wildly before levelling her spear at the two of us. "Well, I'm green, so if you hurt me, you'll turn orange, and –"

That was all the opening I needed. At the full speed I could move, I drew the Nightblade and had it at her throat in a heartbeat. It was a small trick I had learned; never move at full speed immediately. The sunlight gleamed off of the blade. Rosalia stared, wide-eyed, as I proved I was far faster than she was. I summoned up every bit of cold I remembered from the months where I kept pushing everyone away. "If you've heard of me, you might have heard of the weapon I use. It's called the Nightblade – one nick and you've got poison running through your veins." I smiled ruthlessly. "It's a very, very nasty poison; at your level, it'll kill you in less than two minutes. And I doubt you'd be able to cure it and kill me before I could wound you again."

Rosalia couldn't speak; she could only make choked noises. I narrowed my eyes, hoping that would have an extra effect. "I'm a solo player. That means I have no problem playing as orange for a few days. I also have no problem killing you here and now – you said there wasn't any proof of whether dying here meant you were dead in real life, right? How about we test that theory?"

She dropped her spear and I laughed humorlessly. "For all that you're poorly informed and an idiot, you do know when to give up." I straightened and sheathed my dagger. "Kirito, take care of this. I need to take a walk." Without waiting for his acknowledgement, I walked past him and Silica, ignoring her look of confusion.

After I lost myself in the flowers, I stood still, shaking. I had enjoyed that; the thrill of being stronger than her and being able to intimidate her. Was that right? I knew I walked the fine line of becoming just like those players, using my strength to rob and intimidate, if I didn't understand why I felt happy about threatening her like that. My actions were ruthless, but I did them for the right reasons. Rosalia only spoke the language of power; I needed to prove that I was a stronger player than she was in order to have her follow my orders. That was the difference; they used their strength for personal gain. I used my power just as a means to the end of justice. I laughed; even my thoughts were corny. I wrestled with the moral dilemma of actually going through with my threat – if Rosalia hadn't forfeited, would I have followed through and killed her? It was possible – for all that I acted like a ruthless, heartless bastard back during the confrontation I knew she would forfeit. I did what I had to do to protect myself and Kirito. If someone threatened me, I'd protect myself. If someone threatened him, I'd tear them apart.

It was that thought that made me realize how much I trusted him – and relied on him. I needed his support to function; he was an emotional support beam. Without him, I was balancing on just my own shaky rationalizations. I never made friends easily, but when I did I was absolutely loyal to them. I would never be able to trust him fully; I was mentally incapable of placing my life in another player's that totally. I had to keep secrets from everyone, if only for the knowledge that I still had some things that only I knew. Kirito was one of my closest friends, and I had already shifted him from the category of 'Player I'm friendly to' to 'Friend'. I would never betray him in any way; the few friends I had, I trusted the most. Asuna, before the Christmas incident, had been on the way to becoming one of the few people on that second category. I knew that if we could somehow reconcile, she would be a strong friend. The only problem to me was that I had no idea if she wanted to reconcile or tear my head off.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I teleported back to the 35th floor where Silica was staying. I made my way to the inn; by the time I had worked my way through the crowd, the sun was setting. I knocked on the door and Kirito opened it; I smiled. "Hey, Kirito."

"Welcome back."

His simple response cheered me up. "Sorry about that. I just needed to think things through for a bit." I stopped just after entering the room. "Hey, Kirito?"

"Yeah?"

"If I ever block you out like that again, knock some sense into me, okay?" I grinned and was answered with a smile. I walked forward and saw Silica sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hey, Silica. Sorry about not telling you about the whole assault team thing."

She smiled. "Kirito said the same thing. I think it's cool you're on the assault team, actually."

I laughed. "Well, Kirito knows best. I'm just a humble dagger-wielder and not some legend like the Black Swordsman over here." I gestured over my shoulder. "I should tell you some of the stories we have about him." I sighed. "I would have told you about our real abilities before, but I was concerned you'd run away – and then we'd never be able to help resurrect Pina or catch Rosalia."

Silica shook her head. "Kirito said that too. I'd never run away or be scared of you. Because you're nice at heart." I smiled. It wasn't every day I was told I was nice at heart after threatening someone with murder. "Do…do you two really have to leave?"

I looked to Kirito, lost for words. He looked off in the distance. "Yeah… we've been away from the front lines for a few days. It's time we got back." Silica looked like she was going to say something, but Kirito kept talking. "You know, levels are just numbers. And a person's strength in this world is just an illusion." He took a seat next to Silica and I sat on the dresser. "Sure, it's cool and all, but there are more important things than that." He turned and smiled at Silica. "We should meet up in the real world. That would be cool."

I laughed. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to tag along. Besides, someone needs to act as chaperone."

Kirito studiously ignored me and kept talking to Silica. "Because I like having you as a friend."

"Can't leave you two kids alone. I don't want to know what would happen."

Silica smiled. "Okay, we will. I promise."

I rolled my eyes. "I feel like I'm being ignored."

Kirito stood up. "Well, ready to revive Pina?"

Silica jumped off the bed. "Yeah!" I chuckled at her joy – she looked like she was her actual age instead of someone who had been trapped in Sword Art Online for over a year. They walked over to the table, and I watched from my seat on the dresser. Silica pulled out Pina's feather, and placed it on the table. She pulled out the flower as well, and stood there, staring at it and the feather. She looked at Kirito, and he nodded. She tilted the flower forward and a single drop of the nectar fell onto the feather. It started glowing with a bright light, and the last I could see before I was blinded was Silica smiling happily.

Good for her. Happiness was in short supply.

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**Please leave a review – I could use all the help I could get. Many thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed.**

**Rythin seems to be having problems with people, doesn't he? I swear I didn't intend for him to become this easily depressed; he just got a mind of his own and the story more or less wrote itself. Snarky bastard does get some good lines, though.**


	6. March 6th, 2024

**Chapter 6**

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**March 6****th****, 2024**

I tried my best to focus on the map in front of me, but I was all too aware of the players surrounding me. We were all packed uncomfortably into a small cave just outside of the town on the 56th Floor. I flinched every time I was jostled by another player shifting their weight. I didn't blame them; I knew that they didn't mean to bump into me. That didn't stop me from feeling slightly claustrophobic and warm. I sighed after a player apologized for nudging my shoulder and refocused on the floor map.

The advancing of the front lines had been stymied by one particular Field Boss. The Geocrawler was heavily armored in almost every area; its long horns and heavy frontal armor made it impervious to harm. Nothing anybody had tried had worked. Due to the particular formation of the valley where it waited, we couldn't even flank it and attack from multiple angles; the large, steep valley walls prevented any sort of attack but one from the front. There was one place that was vulnerable, its large and unarmored stomach, but the sheer size of the Geocrawler made that approach an impossibility as well.

I tried every trick I knew to make a plan form from the scattered details I knew, but it was no use. No matter how much or how hard I glared at the map, a plan refused to create itself. It was very aggravating. Taking a small break from the useless task, I let my gaze roam around the room. Kirito was standing beside me and was focused on the map. Most players looked as clueless as I felt; I didn't see any players working out any sort of plan. The leaders of each segment of the guilds were frowning at the maps. The rank and file were murmuring, a soft hypnotic sound that threatened to snap my already frayed temper. I looked around; a lot of players were staring at me. I was slightly uncomfortable with the sheer number of players watching me expectantly, as if they were waiting for me to come up with some brilliant plan out of nothing. I felt strangely defensive; I didn't see them getting anything done, so why should I be expected to pull something out of my hat like a magician?

A loud slam made me spin back to the map and bite off a half-formed curse. Asuna was standing over the map, one hand on the table. "Lure it to the village. That's how we get the boss." A loud roaring of shock washed over me as the gathered players started talking about her words all at once.

I waited for her to continue, but it became painfully obvious that was the extent of her plans. I nudged Kirito. "I heard the set-up, but I'm still waiting for the punch line," I whispered. Asuna's plan sounded like a bad joke.

Kirito stepped forward. "Wait, you can't be serious. If we do, the boss will go after the villagers –"

"Yes, that's the idea," Asuna interrupted him. "And while the boss is busy killing NPCs, we can attack it." I was amazed. Her plan relied entirely on the boss being too stupid to realize the people running away from it were a lesser threat than the people hitting it with sharp sticks. I would have laughed if I hadn't been so shocked. "And kill it." She didn't even have a way of approaching the attack.

Kirito stepped forward, getting closer and raising a hand to emphasize his point. "But they're not just objects! NPCs are different than rocks or trees!" He shook his head, frustration tinging his voice. "Look, they're –"

Asuna glared at him. "You think they're alive? Really?" Kirito flinched slightly. "In this game, they are just objects. And unlike us, if they're killed they can always respawn." She did have a point; NPCs were functionally immortal, unlike the players.

Kirito dropped his hand and shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm not cool with that plan."

I figured it was about time to add my own two cents. "I won't be a part of this either. Your plan has as many holes in it as a net, and while I can't say I particularly care if an NPC dies, the fact is that anyone dying is wrong." I was being deliberately cruel, and I didn't much care. "Kayaba would never have designed a boss with 'acceptable casualties'," I used finger quotes to mock the words, "being part of the method to beat it." I frowned. "There has to be something we're missing."

Asuna glared at the two of us. "I'm running this operation, okay?" Her voice was chill – as befit a leader whose position was being threatened. "In case you forgot, I'm still second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood." How could anyone forget? She carried herself as if she had to prove something to somebody. "You'll obey my orders, like it or not."

I smirked. "Oh? Which forms should I sign in triplicate to go take a piss?" I knew that would start the arguing between the two of us as it usually did. I would say something insulting, she would fire back, and we would more and more vicious as the fight wore on. I was deliberately provoking her in an attempt to distract the assembled players from her plan. "I'm a solo player, and I don't answer to you. I'm in this solely because I want to be."

The fight only got worse from there.

Eventually, the meeting broke apart. We hadn't managed to come to an agreement. The gathered players left in their parties of three or six, and Kirito and I made our way outside. I stretched in the sunlight and sighed, no longer feeling like someone was breathing down my neck. The two of us set off toward the boss – I intended to do some more scouting of my own to try to learn what the boss's weakness was.

"Hey!" A deep voice made the two of us stop and turn around. A tall dark-skinned man was making his way toward us. "What's with you guys?"

I waved. "Hey, Agil. What are you talking about?" Kirito made a questioning noise.

He put his hands on his hips. "You two and the second in command. You're always getting into it…" He grinned. "And not in a good way." I briefly wondered if there was a good way to get into things with Asuna. I blinked, then laughed. My thoughts had gone strange places very quickly.

Kirito shrugged. "I guess we don't click, Agil." He fell silent, and I saw no reason to expand on what he had said. What was between me and Asuna was private matters. While it made working with her awkward sometimes, I never let my emotions get in the way of business. I would only pick a fight when she attacked me first or when I had a reason, like the argument back in the cave. "Well, she took my advice…" I looked at Kirito, confused at first before remembering his parting words on the first floor. It felt like ages ago that the three of us had killed Illfang the Kobold Lord, working together. That had been the last time the three of us had been in a party together. "But who knew she'd join the top guild, and be a floor-clearing badass?"

I shrugged. "I could have told you about either of those, Kirito. You just never asked." He just looked at me and I grinned. "I know, I know. I've been talking to Argo too much; she's rubbed off on me." The two of us said goodbye to Agil and went off to try to find something we could use against the Geocrawler. Nothing I had seen had helped the last time I was there; I had a few more things to try, but I was more or less out of ideas.

* * *

**April 11****th****, 2024**

I strolled through the forest, enjoying myself. I was training on the 57th Floor. Normally, I would have been up on the front lines, exploring the Labyrinth, but it was a magnificent day out, and so I chose to take the day off, so to speak. The monsters on the 57th Floor were strong enough that I could get in trouble if I wasn't careful, but weak enough that I could fight mostly on autopilot.

A loud snarling alerted me to a monster about to attack. I went on guard, drawing the Nightblade so as to defend myself. A rustling from the bushes on my right told me where the monster was hiding. I turned to face it, placing the Nightblade between me and the bush. I thought I knew what monster was about to attack. As expected, a large brown shape leapt out of the bushes, straight at my head. Without thinking I reacted, ducking under the lunge and bringing the Nightblade up to score the creature's underside. It landed on the ground behind me, whimpering as the poison quickly took effect. I knew that it killed in 100 seconds; the poison did 1% of the target's max HP every second.

I studied the monster while it regained its footing. It was a typical Feral Lion; it attacked using claws and fangs mostly. Its large mane extended down most of its body, making it somewhat difficult to fight as it blocked most sword slices. In a sense, it was a lot like the Geocrawler; protected most places except for the underbelly. They had a habit of pouncing from a hiding spot, something that I used to get access to the soft unprotected belly. Fortunately, its mane didn't protect it from blunt force damage, the type that my Martial Arts skill used. I was used to fighting this particular enemy and it was alone; I let myself fight on autopilot, devoting only enough attention to the Feral Lion to track its movements. The rest of my focus was devoted to thinking. I studied the Feral Lion almost automatically, just absorbing its appearance. The tawny fur contrasted with its large green eyes, making them almost appear to glow. When I wasn't crouched and the Feral Lion wasn't in the middle of trying to claw me apart, it would probably reach my waist – I briefly toyed with the idea of taming one to use as a mount. I wondered if Sword Art Online even had rules relegated to mounted combat. Before long, though, I realized that I had killed the Feral Lion. I shrugged and went on my way. It was an easy fight; I hadn't even felt the rush of adrenaline.

Things continued that way for some time; I would be walking around, I would be attacked, and I would kill whatever attacked me. I had plenty of goods to sell for Col. I suddenly blinked, coming out of my thoughts to realize that I was in an area that I had never explored before. Curious, I started poking around. That probably wasn't the smartest move. I rounded a corner and heard several snarls from in front of me. I chuckled nervously. "Just passing through?" I heard snarls surrounding me as more monsters approached from behind trees. They had been hiding there, waiting for an unwary or stupid traveler to walk into their trap. Like an idiot, I had stuck my head straight into the noose. I drew the Nightblade as I turned slowly, looking around me. I had been surrounded, and I couldn't see where the monsters where. I frowned. I'd have to use every tool at my disposal to win. I sighed and activated the skill I used as a last resort.

I blinked. When I refocused, the world had gone slightly grayer than before; I could still see colors, but it was as if I was viewing them through a lens. Suddenly, a stream of red light appeared, piercing through my chest. I didn't hesitate; I threw myself to the side. Suddenly, a roar sounded and a monster lunged, following the path marked out by the red light perfectly. That was the benefit of my skill; it would tell me exactly where a Sword Skill would land. It also had an unintended side effect; I was able to calm down and think, rather than react. I looked at the single monster that had revealed itself to me; it was called a Lesser Chimera. A chimera was an amalgamation of different creatures, typically goat, lion, and snake. This one didn't have the goat portion, made solely of lion and snake. It actually appeared a lot like the Feral Lion – however, the Feral Lion's tail wasn't a snake. I knew I wouldn't be able to attack on my own terms until I was out of the circle of enemies. Dodging and striking when able, I worked on extricating myself from the precarious situation. If I didn't have the advantage of knowing when and where they'd strike, I'd have been in a lot of trouble.

I eventually managed to find a small hill with no trees nearby. I decided to make my stand there; even if they could still surround me, I would have the high ground and the Lesser Chimeras wouldn't be able to hide. I would have preferred to have something solid at my back, but the 57th Floor was filled with rolling hills and some wooded areas. It wasn't conducive to my survival at the time, but I couldn't be picky. I picked out a red streak that told me exactly where a Lesser Chimera would attack; it was the first to do so, being braver or less cautious than the others. The path it intended to take would clip my right shoulder. I shifted my weight, leaning left and bracing myself with my right hand. As the Lesser Chimera lunged, I brought up the Nightblade, stabbing it in the gut. I jerked downward with all my strength, leaving a nasty slash that sliced open the stomach. I had no intention of fighting fair against these monsters. The Chimera landed behind me and I stood back up. A lance of red light seemed to pass through my neck. I reacted automatically, turning and raising my hands to grasp at the light. The Lesser Chimera's snake tail lashed forward. I grabbed and pulled, using its momentum to fling the Lesser Chimera at several of its colleagues at the base of the hill. It bit at one that it landed on, and I grinned. If they wanted to fight amongst themselves, I would have no problem with that. I dashed down the hill toward another group of Lesser Chimeras, taking the offensive.

By the time I had killed all of the Lesser Chimeras, it was nearing the end of the day. I made my way back to town to rest and sell the fruits of my endeavors, passing by other players leaving in parties. I knew some of them were looking back at me, recognizing my armor and putting the name to my face. I just ignored their looks. If they had a problem with me or my actions, I could defend myself sufficiently, even without resorting to the Nightblade.

A figure dressed in black caught my eyes. Kirito was sitting on a stone fence, legs crossed. His eyes were closed, but he opened them as I drew near. He smiled. "Rythin."

"Kirito." I waved. "Took the day off too, I see." I sat down next to him. "Is there a reason Asuna is sleeping behind you?"

I laughed when he sighed. "I was relaxing under the tree when she came to bother me. I convinced her to relax too, but…" He shrugged. "She fell asleep."

I nodded. "And you didn't want to leave her alone thanks to the recent rise in sleep PKs." He nodded. Sleep Player Killings, or sleep PKs, was a relatively new development in the 'metagame' of Aincrad. Normally, players were protected by the AREA and couldn't be harmed. Duels were the only way to get around this protection; in a duel, a player lost health when they were injured. Normally, duels were only fought until one player's health dropped into the yellow zone; Kirito had fought a duel against Asuna only a month ago and won. However, red players had found a way to manipulate the duels. By finding a sleeping player and forcing their hand to accept the duel, the red player would be able to attack the sleeping player unhindered. As Aincrad didn't replicate pain, but only a numbing sensation, the target wouldn't wake up and eventually would die. It was a gruesome deed; players had started avoiding sleeping outdoors or alone, choosing instead to only sleep in locked rooms. It wasn't helping the mental state of players much. After all, it was supposed to be us against the game, not us against each other.

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying the setting sun. I broke the quiet first. "Kirito, you asked me a few months ago about why I kinda hid from everyone." He looked over at me, and I tried to ignore my rising heart rate and tensing muscles. I had to tell him everything. "I told you I would tell you when I was ready." I sighed. "I'll see if I can work my way up to it. You know I don't like most people, right?" He nodded. "I actually hate most people. I don't tolerate idiocy well, and so I rarely get close enough to anybody to become friends with them. So to me, a friend is someone I trust completely." I smiled. "You're one of the few people I consider a friend."

"I'm honored."

I laughed. "As you should be." I grew serious quickly. "Anyway, when you went suicidal on us, I felt betrayed. I felt like I had lost one of my friends." He sighed. "But that was fine; I was hurt, but I had someone else to trust."

He blinked. "Asuna, right?"

I closed my eyes. "Right. Asuna. See, when you were off power levelling, the two of us got pretty close. And just before midnight on Christmas Eve, she told me she wanted to be more than just friends." I could almost feel him stare at me in surprise. "I said no." I hurried to continue before he could say something and break my focus. "See, there's something about me that I've never told anybody. It's incredibly personal, and I don't talk about it much."

I took a deep breath. "I identify as asexual."

I let it sink in for a moment, but Kirito didn't say anything. "Physically, everything works as it should, but mentally…" I shrugged. "There's no drive. And so I wouldn't let Asuna get involved with me; I could tell she wasn't like me and that she'd be unhappy."

From my right, Kirito's voice. "I never guessed."

I laughed. "That's because I'm good at keeping secrets."

"How long have you known?"

"I figured it out just before…" I opened my eyes and gestured out in front of myself. "Before all of this." I grimaced. "There was… a similar incident involving another close friend of mine. More or less the same as what happened here, though there was no threat of death involved." I sighed. "Just two lonely kids that found each other and things got out of hand. But as for your second, unspoken, question, you're the first one I've told. Probably because you're the first one I trust enough to know."

I felt Kirito start to reach over, but stop. I laughed bitterly. "I'm not sure, but I think that might be where my distaste for personal contact comes from. I don't know if it caused my… orientation, or if that caused my hate for being touched, or if the two are even related. All I know is what I know." I sighed. "I get lonely sometimes, though. And so when I find someone like you, or like Asuna, someone I can rely on and trust, I do so completely." I knew I was messed up emotionally. I rested unsteadily on the pillar of Kirito's support; without that, I would be no better than a sociopath, just going through the day-to-day motions without actually caring. In short, much like the two months after Christmas when I had lost both his and Asuna's support. I would return to only caring about myself and choosing actions based on what could earn me the most profit. "Basically, I'm normal except I don't care about sex." I grinned honestly for the first time since I had started telling Kirito my secrets. "I can't really understand it, actually. All I know is that girls go wild over you. Must be the hair."

He grinned. "I take it insults are your way of showing affection?"

"No, they're my way of hiding my deep-set jealousy. But, honestly, yeah." I laughed. "People develop their people skills for two reasons: to get paid and get laid. I don't care about the second one and I have – or, had – a part time job which takes care of the first." I could be polite very well; it was all lying. You pretended that you cared, they pretended that they cared, and politeness was preserved. I knew my outlook on life was cynical and didn't really care. "So I choose to mock people. It's more fun that way." I leaned forward slightly, eyes shadowed. "I think it stems from my inability to believe that anybody actually would like me."

"Well, believe it or not, I do like you and I want to be your friend."

I smiled. "Thanks; I probably won't believe you, but thanks. That means a lot."

Kirito made a noise that I chose to interpret as thoughtful and fell silent. After some time, he spoke. "Well, I guess since you confided in me I should confide in you."

I waved my hand. "Nah, there's no pressure. I'm good at keeping secrets, but don't feel obliged to share one just because I did."

He shook his head. "I want to share this one." He swallowed. "Don't get mad, okay?"

"What did I just say? I trust you completely. The only thing that would get me mad would be to betray me."

He laughed uneasily. "Right… anyway, thing is, I have a special skill." I raised my eyebrow, inviting him to continue. "I just found it on my skill list one day as I was grinding. I've been training it in secret ever since."

"That's nice and all, but what's it called?" My curiosity was getting the best of me.

"It's called Dual Blades."

"Huh." I thought about it for a second, putting this new piece into the puzzle that was Kirito. "Lets you use two swords, one in each hand, right? And you use this skill routinely." He nodded, a shocked expression on his face. "Don't be too surprised; I wondered about that when I never saw you use a shield."

He laughed. "I should have known I couldn't keep something from you. After all, you are the Diamond Tactician, the smartest player in Sword Art Online."

I grimaced. "I hate that title. I wish I could have a cool one, like the Black Swordsman. Now, that's cool." He laughed, and I grinned. "I mean seriously, what's up with my title?" I pitched my voice slightly higher. "Ooh, I'm so smart and shiny, please talk about my physical characteristics." I laughed. "Anyway, there is one more thing I haven't told you." He looked at me. "See, I have a special skill of my own." He didn't say anything, urging me on silently. "According to the system, it's called Future Step."

"Huh. Sounds strange. What's it do?"

I activated the skill. "When I use it, my eyes change color to red." I figured that out when I triggered it and looked in a pond. "Cool part aside, whenever someone uses a Sword Skill, I see this red area that tells me where it will hit." I grinned, turning off the skill. "It lets me dodge the attack. All it does, though, is show where it will be; I still have to dodge it under my own power."

"I'd wondered how you managed to dodge some attacks. Especially the ones that came from behind." He muttered out loud.

"We should have a duel. You and me, one on one, just to train the skills. That way, nobody else has to know about them." I assumed he had a reason for keeping his skill secret. I just kept all of my information hidden until I chose to reveal it. "I don't know where it came from, but it showed up just after Christmas. How about you?"

"Same, though it showed up sometime in October." He was about to say more, but a sneeze from behind us made him stop talking.

We both turned around; Asuna had woken up and was peering around groggily. A blade of grass was stuck to her cheek and I thought I saw some saliva on her chin. I was a restless sleeper, but I didn't drool, something I was happy about. "Kirito, Asuna is now awake." I said to him without looking away from Asuna. He murmured something. "If I ran now, it would look pretty bad, wouldn't it?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him nod and I sighed. "I'm so screwed…"

Asuna's eyes landed on us and for a few seconds she just stared, still sleepy. Suddenly, she gasped and was wide awake. "Wh- ah- eh…"

Kirito smiled. "G'morning. You slept like a rock."

Asuna lunged to her feet and started to draw her rapier. Kirito and I panicked; fear overtook me and I jumped off the stone fence, using it as a barrier. Asuna stopped herself, blade half drawn, and stood there shaking. I didn't move or straighten up until her rapier was fully sheathed. She slowly took her hand off of its hilt and pointed at us, shaking the whole time. I couldn't tell if she was shaking in anger, fear, or embarrassment; it didn't much matter, as I was in trouble no matter what happened. "You get one meal." Her voice shook as much as her hand did.

Kirito and I looked at each other blankly. "Huh?"

Asuna straightened and looked to the side, refusing to meet Kirito's eyes. "One meal. All you can eat, my treat." She glared at him. "Then we'll be even. Deal?"

I could tell the offer wasn't for me. Kirito crouched behind the wall, wide-eyed. He must not have expected Asuna's violent reaction either. He nodded absentmindedly.

I stood up and hesitantly backed away. Instantly, Asuna was glaring at me. "And where do you think you're going?"

I froze like a deer in the headlights. "I, eh... have to, uh… go… sleep?" I winced internally. I had prepared several excuses in case an event like this ever occurred. Half of them were even true. Unfortunately, they slipped away like sand through my mind's clutching fingers. I knew she wouldn't accept my stuttered mess of an excuse. I was usually so glib; I was off my game due to my brief talk with Kirito.

"We have to talk." It was amazing. The four worst words a man could ever hear, and I was hearing them. Conversations that started that way never ended well. "Alone." There was that fifth word. I knew I was doomed. "We can talk later." And lo, the sundering of the earth ceased and the apocalypse stopped. I was safe until Kirito finished his meal.

I didn't dare leave. I followed Kirito and Asuna as they went to a restaurant on the 57th Floor. I had eaten there before, though it wasn't one of my favorites. A corner table was available, and I sighed, grateful for small mercies. I hated not having a wall to at least one of my sides when I ate. Kirito and I sat on one side of the table, and Asuna sat on the other. An awkward silence filled the table.

The silence was not broken by the many whispers that had started up by our appearance. From nearby, I could hear people whispering about 'the Lightning Flash', a 'shady-looking guy dressed in black', and 'the Tactician'. I could feel their eyes on my back, and I studiously ignored them, choosing instead to stare out of the window. Asuna was staring straight ahead, and Kirito had rested his chin on one hand, glancing around him every so often.

Asuna was the first to break the tense atmosphere. "Well, anyway…" Kirito and I looked at her, and she was looking at Kirito out of the corner of her eyes. "Thank you. For today."

I remained silent, as was my habit when not comfortable in a situation. "Why?" asked Kirito.

"For keeping an eye on me." Asuna said as if it was obvious. In her defense, however, it was.

"Oh…sure."

Asuna folded her hands in front of her, but she kept fiddling with her fingers nervously. "The towns are supposed to be safe zones. And unless you've agreed to a duel, a player can't attack – or kill – you." Asuna stared at the table. "But when you're asleep, you're vulnerable."

I tuned out the rest of the conversation. I had already thought about the recent string of player killings, and I didn't want to think about them again. I stared out the window instead, half-listening to their conversation in the event that something was addressed to me.

As they talked, I wondered about what Asuna wanted to say to me. There was only one thing that she would feel necessary to speak to me alone about, and that was the events of Christmas Eve. I didn't look forward to the confrontation. Strangely, though, I felt ready to talk to her about it; speaking with Kirito had given me the confidence to deal with any fallout from my actions that night. I would simply tell her what I told him; that I was asexual and that it wouldn't be fair to her to allow her to convince herself that she was happy. I wasn't entirely sure how that would go over; I fully expected to have to defend myself at some point.

The flow of conversation around me had stopped, and I came back to reality to find both Asuna and Kirito silent. Another awkward silence filled the air. I sighed mentally; there had been quite a few of those recently, and until the issues with Asuna were resolved I didn't foresee them going away.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, to break the silence when a loud scream pierced the air. I jumped, startled, and lunged out of my chair at the same time as Kirito and Asuna. The restaurant quickly emptied, and the three of us hurried outside to find the source of the scream.

We rounded a corner. Kirito and Asuna looked around wildly, and then gasped simultaneously. I looked at them, followed their line of sight and swore under my breath; a player had been hanged. He was dressed in large plate mail. That wasn't the worst of our problems, however; he had been pierced by a large weapon. He had both of his hands wrapped around it, trying to pull it out. I looked around us, and swore again, louder this time; a crowd had gathered, drawn by the scream, and there was no way of hiding this event. If word got out that a player had been killed inside the AREA, we would have widespread panic.

Kirito, Asuna, and I ran up to the man. "Hurry! Pull it out!" Kirito shouted. If the player could remove whatever weapon had pierced him, he would stabilize. The man looked down as if he just noticed the crowd and tried desperately to pull out the weapon. He seemed to be struggling; I assumed that it would be difficult to pull it out when he had no leverage.

"I'll cut him down, you catch him." Asuna dashed inside the building.

Kirito nodded. "Got it!" He ran over to the dangling player. "Help's on the way!"

The man tried even harder to pull the weapon out. He screamed, loudly. Suddenly, he went limp. His appearance shook, and he burst into polygons. The noose that had been around his neck swung grimly in the air. The weapon dropped to the ground landing point first and sinking into the cobblestone floor. Several players surrounding the incident screamed.

Kirito stared at where the player had been hanging just moments before, then whipped around. I followed his train of thought with lightning speed. "Everyone! Look for the player with the Winner icon!" I shouted. The only possible way for a player to be killed in the AREA was during a duel; he must have been the victim of a Sleep PK.

Asuna walked out onto the balcony. "There's no one here, the room's empty!" Kirito and I scanned the crowd, searching desperately for a player with the betraying sign hanging over his head. We had no luck.

With a sinking feeling, I walked over and pulled out the weapon. It appeared to be some sort of spear, though not one I recognized. I handed it over to Kirito; he thanked me and went inside to talk to Asuna. I looked over the crowd; they were in shock at the moment, though it would soon fade. When it did, we would be lucky to be faced with a mob. If word got out that a player could be killed in the streets of the town, panic would spread. I needed to find a scapegoat for the incident.

I swallowed as my thoughts ran to their inevitable conclusion. I would have to talk to the crowd and manipulate their feelings so as to avoid a riot or worse. I told myself that when in a crowd, a person was less likely to stand out and draw attention to themselves. If I took control now, I most likely wouldn't have to deal with anybody personally. With luck, they would listen and follow anything I said. They were about ten seconds from panic, and somebody, anybody, taking control of the situation would be welcome.

I stood on the steps to the building and took a deep breath. I told myself that this was just manipulating emotions in the direction I wanted them to go – this was nothing new. I told myself that stupidity wasn't catching and that I had to do this. "What you have just seen was murder." I used my loudest and most authoritative voice. I saved this for when I needed everybody's attention on me and me alone; the last time I had used it was when I detailed the plan for the 42nd Floor's boss encounter. "It seems to be the work of a player killer taking advantage of an exploit in the duel system." There was no use in sugarcoating my words; they would only serve to convince people I was trying to hide something, and that would only spread the rumors faster. "This exploit requires the victim to be alone and asleep." I had them, now. I could tell by the way every eye was watching me. I swallowed; this was the tricky part. "When you start to feel drowsy, try to make sure you are in a safe place. I would suggest an inn room. If it is impossible to be in a secure location, ensure that you have someone that you trust watching over you." People were nodding and murmuring, now; by bringing the problem to their attention and solving it, I was directing their anxiety over the killing to a problem they could solve. "It is impossible to be too safe. Please take all precautions; this is a problem that can be avoided." If this were real life, sweat would have been beading on my forehead. I hated talking to people; crowds were more or less torture.

I heard a cry echo from the room above me and glanced up. Several birds had been startled by the loud cry and had taken wing. I shook my head; Kirito had probably said something stupid to Asuna. My attention was caught by the swaying noose, and something popped into my mind. "There is one more thing," I said as I turned back to the crowd. I knew what I was about to say was stupid, but I couldn't resist. "When you ask someone to hang out, make sure nobody gets the wrong idea." I got a few scattered groans; that was good. Groans meant that people weren't in shock any more.

Asuna's voice echoed from behind me. "This really isn't the time, Rythin." She and Kirito walked out onto the steps.

I turned and fell back, yielding the floor to them. "I could always break down and have a panic attack instead. I thought that was worse."

Asuna ignored me, as usual, and Kirito stepped forward. "Listen up! Did anyone see what happened before that player died? If someone did, please speak up." The crowd started murmuring amongst themselves, and I winced. Isolating someone as a witness was the last thing we wanted to do; if the killer had some method of killing in a safe zone, they would be willing to remove witnesses. I didn't say anything, though; this was Kirito and Asuna's show right now.

Against all odds, a player stepped forward. She was young and appeared absolutely terrified. Asuna's expression softened. "Sorry. I can imagine how frightened you are." She wouldn't have to imagine; it was plain on the girl's face. "Can you tell us your name?"

The girl inhaled. "Sure… my name's Yoruko…" If I hadn't been able to tell by her expression, her voice would have revealed her trauma; her voice trembled. She was very close to a nervous breakdown.

"Was that you?" Upon realizing his question was vague, Kirito rephrased it. "I mean, were you the one who screamed?"

Yoruko nodded carefully. "I – I knew him." She was pale; the freckles under her eyes stood out sharply. "His name was Kains and the two of us used to belong in the same guild." No wonder she was terrified; she knew the victim personally. "Anyway, we came here together today. We were going to have dinner somewhere in town." She clenched her eyes, tears streaming down her face. "But we got separated in the plaza. I looked around for him, and then I saw him hanging from that balcony and –" She couldn't continue; her voice had been growing shakier and shakier as she told her story, and she had finally broken down and started sobbing.

Asuna walked close to her and started rubbing her back comfortingly. "Was there anyone else up there?"

Yoruko pulled herself together enough to respond. "For a second there, I'm not sure, but I did see someone standing behind Kains…" Asuna, Kirito, and I met gazes. If there had been someone there, they must have escaped during the confusion. That would be no mean trick; they couldn't have escaped from the balcony or someone would have seen them, and we were standing in front of the only exit to the building.

Asuna leaned a little closer. "And this person, had you seen them before?" Yoruko just shook her head, unable to speak.

"Um, I know this is hard for you, but think back and try to remember." Kirito's voice took on a pleading tone. "Could there be someone, anyone, with a reason to kill him?"

Yoruko trembled, but shook her head. Asuna and Kirito glanced at each other; they knew as well as I did that we weren't going to get any more information out of Yoruko that night. Suddenly, she opened her eyes; they were startlingly blue in her pale face. We took her inside where she would be out of the public view, and waited for nightfall.

After the crowd dispersed and the sun had gone down, we walked Yoruko back to her inn. She was staying at the Yamahya Lodge, a relatively cheap place to stay for a few nights. I had stayed there when I was helping clear the floor. The brief respite had allowed Yoruko to compose herself. "Thank you for walking me back. Sorry if it's out of your way."

Asuna shook her head. "No worries. But we'd like to talk to you again tomorrow, if you're feeling up to it."

"Okay…." I wasn't entirely sure if Yoruko would be up to it; by the sound of her voice, the trauma hadn't fully sunk in yet. It was possible that she would be even worse the next day. She walked inside, turned, and bowed to us, closing the door behind her.

Kirito turned to me and Asuna. "So, what do we do?"

We started walking, and it was some time before Asuna answered him. "Simple. We follow the only solid clue we have."

I frowned. "The spear."

She nodded. "If we can find out where that spear came from, it might lead us straight to the killer."

Kirito sighed. "Well, we'll need to find someone with an appraisal skill." The last time I had needed an appraiser was when I received my Nightblade. "I mean, it's pretty obvious you don't have one."

"No, I don't. And neither do you." Asuna's tone was arch. "Oh, and by the way? Try not to be so rude when you're speaking to me." I glanced back at her; she was standing, hands on her hips.

Kirito turned back. "Oh…okay, should I call you Miss next time?" Asuna glared at him. "Second in command?" Her expression didn't change one bit. "Lightning Flash?"

I shook my head. "It's obvious that she wants you to call her Mistress." I watched Asuna's expression closely and was rewarded when she glared at me. I only grinned in response.

She sighed. "Oh, never mind. Call me Asuna."

"Okay…" Kirito nodded. "Sure. Back to the appraisal skill though. Do you know anyone who has it?" From what I remembered, Heathcliff had it at some point. I didn't think he'd kept the skill, however.

"Hmmm…" Asuna hummed thoughtfully. "I've got a friend who does. She's a weapons merchant. But she's really busy these days so I don't think she'll have time to help us." Asuna looked up at the sky.

I caught Kirito's eye. "Kirito, what about Agil?" Agil had set up shop on the 50th floor. I figured that he'd have the skill at a high enough level.

Kirito nodded. "Asuna, we know an item merchant who might be able to help us out."

We traveled to Agil's shop. It was tucked away in a small alley; perfect for a smaller shop that only needed a few customers. I knew Agil still fought on the front lines occasionally – I assumed that was how he funded his shop. As we approached, the door opened and a spear-wielding player staggered out. From inside, I could hear Agil's enthusiastic voice. "Thanks, my man. Come back any time." The player only muttered something unintelligible and waved. I laughed.

I walked into the shop just behind Kirito. "Agil, shouldn't you be off fleecing more fools? How come you're still here?"

He straightened up and turned around. "No way. Kirito and Rythin!" We walked up to the counter. I leaned on the counter to Agil's right. "Buy cheap and sell cheap, that's my motto. I'm a business man, you know that."

I snorted and Kirito laughed. "That selling cheap part's a lie, though," said Kirito with a smile. The two bumped fists, and I traded nods with Agil. He knew I didn't like to be touched after an issue occurred in his shop.

"Don't go slandering my good name, brother." Agil looked like he was going to say something else, but Asuna chose that moment to walk around the corner. Agil stiffened and choked on the air. He grabbed Kirito and pulled him halfway over the counter, ducking down behind the counter. I leaned over at his imperious gesture. "What the hell has gotten into you two? You're supposed to be solo players, man, what are you doing hanging around with Asuna?" His voice was getting louder and louder; I grinned. "I thought you hated each other's guts!" That last part was directed to me specifically. I glanced up and saw Asuna laughing nervously.

After we explained our situation, Agil took us into the back room. We took seats around a round table. I pulled a stool back and propped myself up with my feet, balancing the stool on two legs. Agil stared at the spear for a minute. "His HP dropped to zero in a safe zone? You sure it wasn't a duel?"

I shook my head. "I'm fairly certain it wasn't. There was nobody nearby with a Winner icon."

"We can also rule out the murder being a Sleep PK." The three of us glanced at Asuna. "He was walking with Yoruko before it happened."

Kirito nodded. "And besides, his death was too elaborate to be some random duel. The PKer who did this had it planned out." I took his word for it; all I saw was his death. I hadn't gone up to the room that led to the balcony. "We're pretty sure of that. And then…" He dropped his gaze to the red spear. "There's this."

Agil frowned in concentration as he picked up the spear. Swiping open a menu, he tapped the appraise icon. It whirred for a few seconds before beeping as Kirito, Asuna and I waited in silence. "A player made this." I inhaled sharply.

Kirito leaned forward. "Really?"

"Who was it? Can you tell?" asked Asuna.

"Grimlock." Agil frowned. "Never heard that name before. He's not one of the top blacksmiths, that's for damn sure. Far as I can tell, there's nothing special about this." I trusted his words; he was the one who discovered the properties of the Nightblade. If he said there wasn't anything unique about the spear, then I believed him. That opened up a whole new can of worms, however; how had the player died?

Asuna frowned. "Yeah, but… It's something to go on, right?"

Kirito nodded. "Is there an item name listed?"

"You'll love it. Guilty Thorn – there's a name for you. Kinda fits, though, don't you think?"

I laughed. "How appropriate. I wonder if there's another one out there. I'd call it Innocent Rose."

Kirito took back the spear. "Seriously? Guilty Thorn?" He stared at the spear as if he hoped something would pop out and tell him what killed the player. I sat on my stool, still balanced, thinking about the weapon. If it had no special properties, then how could the player have died? I resolved to go check the memorial on the first floor to make sure he was actually dead. I'd need the spelling of his name, something I made a mental reminder to ask Yoruko about the next day. "Here goes…" Kirito's voice made me look over. He switched the grip of the spear, pointing it toward his hand. I wasn't too worried; if there was an issue, he could always pull out the spear. In any case, the AREA would prevent it from actually causing harm.

"Wait, stop!" Asuna cried as she lunged forward, catching his hand. Her sudden movement made me lose my balance and I toppled over, landing on the floor and hitting my head.

I sat up, rubbing the back of my head. "A little warning next time would be nice."

She glanced at me briefly. "Sorry, Rythin. I didn't mean to make you fall over."

Kirito looked over at Asuna. "What's the matter?"

"What do you mean, 'what's the matter'? Are you out of your mind?" If I didn't know better, I would have said that she was worried about him. I chalked it up to her not wanting to deal with me by herself. "That thing's already killed one person!"

"I know. But we need to find out what this thing's capable of," said Kirito. "Don't we?"

I groaned. "There wasn't any danger, Asuna."

She glared at both of us. "Would you stop being so reckless?" She grabbed the spear out of Kirito's hand and gave it to Agil. "Agil, would you please hold on to this for us?"

He took it, and I could tell by his face that he wasn't entirely sure what had just happened. "Uh, yeah…" Asuna turned around and glared at us. I shared a confused look with Kirito – neither of us could guess why she was so upset.

* * *

**April 12****th****, 2024**

We met Yoruko the next day. I knew the conversation would be awkward and stilted due to her fear. I also knew that I wouldn't be able to contribute in any meaningful way; I was too harsh and blunt to deal with her trauma. In order to escape the meeting, as soon as she sat down I asked her politely for the spelling of Kains's name. She spelled it for me, and I gratefully left, telling Kirito and Asuna where I was going. They nodded, and I walked out of the restaurant.

The glow of teleportation faded away, and I walked out among the players on the first floor. I had taken the precaution of covering my armor; a clearer on the first floor was cause for concern no matter what the issue was. After dealing with the crowd the day before, I didn't want to cause a panic just by being there.

I made my way to the Monument of Life. It was placed prominently where the respawn area was supposed to be; a cruel irony that nevertheless made me laugh every time I saw it. I approached, trying to ignore the large amount of lines through the names of players. Those lines signified that the player was dead. By tapping on the lines, I could view a screen that told me the month and day a player had died, as well as the cause of death. I searched through the names, searching for Kains. "K…K….K-A….ah, here we go. Kains." I tapped his name; the screen appeared in my vision. I exhaled sharply – the month and day matched, as well as the cause of death. Piercing damage over time; that certainly fit.

I wasn't sure how long I stood there, staring at the name. If Kains was dead – and the Monument of Life proved that – then we had a big issue on our hands. At least one player had learned a way to get around the AREA's protections; that was the largest issue, dwarfing all others. I walked over to the wall and leaned against it. I studied the case from every angle I could imagine. The only way a player could die in a safe zone that I knew of was in a duel. However, we had ruled out the possibility of a duel. Therefore, there was some other exploit that allowed a killer to get around the protections. It was seemingly impossible for a player's health to go down while in the AREA, but somehow Kains had lost all of his HP without leaving the zone. I saw him shatter into polygons myself. Therefore, the AREA was not infallible. I had to study the AREA in depth; I needed to know what it protected and what it didn't.

Something about my thoughts bothered me. There was some clue I was missing; some piece of the puzzle was in the wrong spot. Before I could track it down, however, I received a message from Kirito. They had finished talking to Yoruko and were waiting for me to rejoin them. I stood up and teleported straight to the 57th Floor. I saw them waiting for me under the cover of a roof; it was raining. The same nudge came from seeing the teleportation crystal, but I put it aside. It was more important to learn what Kirito and Asuna had to tell me.

They caught me up as we walked through the various alleyways. We were taking a long and circuitous path in order to have privacy. According to Yoruko, she and Kains had been part of a guild called the Golden Apple. One day, a rare ring dropped while the guild was grinding out in the field. They put it to a vote, and the guild voted five to three to sell it. Kains and Yoruko had been two of the three that wanted to keep it. Their leader, Griselda, left. She never returned. Upon learning of her murder, the guild broke apart and each member went their own ways. It turned out that Grimlock, the player that had made the spear, was Griselda's husband in the game. The other new piece of news was that Schmidt, the leader of one of the defense teams in the Holy Dragon Alliance, was the third player who didn't want to sell the ring. We had our prime suspect – Schmidt.

In exchange for their information about the Golden Apple guild and the murder that started this entire incident, I told them what I had found out. "According to the Monument, Kains really is dead. Everything checked out. Month, day, and manner of death." Something about my words sounded wrong, and I frowned.

I couldn't focus long before Asuna spoke up. "Okay, so, how do you think a murder like this happened in the safe zone?"

Kirito frowned. "I can see three ways it could've. Right off the bat, it's possible it was a fair duel."

I shook my head. "I already went over that with a fine-toothed comb. There's no way it was a duel – Kains was being hanged, and that's not something you do in a fair duel."

"Maybe…someone took advantage of a bug that combines a bunch of different kill methods." Kirito's second idea was appealing. It answered the how, though it seemed far-fetched. The only kill method I had seen was a spear through the chest. After all, that was what finally killed him.

"Yeah, I can see that happening." It clearly appealed to Asuna as well. "And the third?"

"Use something to bypass the protection of a safe zone." He frowned. "Some kind of skill, or maybe an item." He stopped. "No, on second thought that third idea's impossible."

I nodded. "There's no way anything like that could exist. Rare skills do exist, but I doubt one would exist that allows for murdering other players." Kirito glanced at me. I shook my head minutely; I wasn't going to say anything about Dual Blades or Future Step. I wasn't sure how Asuna would react.

"What do you mean, impossible?"

"Because it's unfair." Kirito replied absently, still deep in thought. "I kinda hate to admit it, but it's true. The rules of SAO are essentially fair for every player in the game."

I frowned. "And unlike most rules, these particular rules can't be broken. It's impossible to get around the protection of the safe zone because the rules say so. There's no way the game would allow killing in safe zones."

"I see…" whispered Asuna.

We killed time until the meeting with Schmidt, walking around town and thinking of other ways Kains could have died. The three of us couldn't come up with any possible solutions to our problem, and before long 4:45 rolled around. We gathered in Yoruko's room; Schmidt sat in one chair facing the window. Yoruko was perched in another chair facing Schmidt, and Asuna, Kirito, and I had taken up positions standing around Schmidt. Asuna stood beside his chair, Kirito was leaning against a table, and I lounged against the wall.

A grim silence hovered over the five of us, only broken by Schmidt's nervous motions. He couldn't keep his knee still, and it betrayed his nervousness. We had explained everything to him when he entered, and he was still processing the information. "So that's what killed Kains…" His voice broke the silence. "And you're sure about the spear. Was it really Grimlock's?" His voice had a note of panic in it. I had heard he was terrified of death; hence his particular build. He had focused on pure defense, becoming a mountain of HP.

Yoruko nodded slowly. "There's no doubt." Her voice was steadier than it had been, though I could hear it trembling slightly.

Schmidt's fist clenched convulsively. He stood up with a jerk. "Then why would he wait six months to kill him? Unless…" Something seemed to occur to him. "Wait, could he have stolen the ring? Do you think it's possible he killed Griselda after all?" He sank back down into his chair, all energy seemingly gone. He slammed his fist onto his knee. "Does Grimlock want to kill the three of us because we didn't want to sell the damn ring?" He buried his face in his hands. "Is that why he's after you and me now?"

I didn't say anything throughout this entire scene. If I interfered, nothing would get resolved and we couldn't progress. It was also entirely possible that in his panic Schmidt would say something that could give us a clue.

Yoruko stared straight ahead. "Maybe Grimlock made the spear for someone else for our guild." That was a scenario that hadn't occurred to me; I had assumed that Grimlock had used the spear. It was too easy to trace back to him otherwise. "Maybe they're the ones who killed Kains. Or maybe…" A wind starting blowing, coming through the open window. "Griselda's come back from the dead to get her revenge." Schmidt started. I narrowed my eyes; that made no sense. However, it stuck with me, whispering in my ear. It could work; after all, a ghost wouldn't be bound to the same rules as a player or a monster. I felt cold as the thought ran to its inevitable conclusion. A ghost would be able to hurt and kill a player while inside a safe zone. "A player can't kill another player inside a safe zone. But something else, like a ghost, could." Her words were so tempting to listen to. If we could blame this on a ghost, we could defuse the entire situation for the general public. Most players wouldn't be worried about a ghost; even if they believed in them, they would be safe from the specter. Anybody killed by a ghost would be someone who deserved it. I felt myself tempted to accept that explanation, and I shook my head. That wasn't the answer. The sudden breeze was certainly appropriate to this kind of discussion, though. I grinned sardonically.

Schmidt gasped, moving his mouth as he tried vainly to speak. Kirito, Asuna and I shared a glance. I assumed they had thought of the same things that I had. Yoruko, wide eyed, stood. "I couldn't sleep at all last night. So I stayed up thinking…" Suddenly, she hunched over. "It was everyone's fault! Everyone in the guild is guilty! Her blood is on all our hands!" I straightened up. Yoruko was having a panic attack, and I wanted to be ready for any event. "Her fate was sealed when that ring dropped! We shouldn't have voted!" She dropped her hands, and I was startled again by the brilliant blue of her eyes. "We should have done whatever Griselda told us to do!" I resolved to always get a good night's sleep if this was the result of losing just one night.

I looked at Asuna, but she wasn't moving. I couldn't even break myself out a panic attack, and Asuna was going to be the only one who could stop this. Fortunately, Yoruko seemed to snap out of it. She staggered backward until she reached the windowsill, sinking down onto it. "Grimlock was the only one. The only member of the guild who said we should leave the decision to Griselda." She stared straight ahead, but I could tell that she wasn't really seeing us. "You see? He's the only one of us who can avenge Griselda. He's the only member of our guild who has the right to avenge her."

Schmidt was shaking. "You've gotta be kidding… You gotta be kidding!" He buried his head in his hands. "Why now? After all this time?" His voice was thick. I wasn't entirely sure, but I had a suspicion he was sobbing. "Why kill us now?" He stood up, wide eyed and fully in the grips of panic. "You can't be okay with this, Yoruko!" He took a small step forward. "How can you accept being killed over some stupid vendetta?" He would have done more, but Kirito grabbed his arm. He started and turned to glance at Kirito. I stretched and cracked my knuckles. If Schmidt really was the murderer, he'd have some way to attack Kirito in the AREA. I triggered Future Step, raising a hand to my head as if I was scratching it to hide the tell-tale red color of my eyes. If he used a Sword Skill, I'd know and be able to warn Kirito.

At that moment, everybody's eyes were off of Yoruko. A loud crunch echoed through the room. I turned and stared unthinkingly. Yoruko jerked forward. I gave a strangled cry. Asuna glanced at me once, and did a double take when she saw the red sheen in my eyes. I ignored her; I could always explain it as a trick of the light later. My entire focus was on Yoruko; she slowly turned, wide-eyed. I couldn't see the expressions of the others from where I stood, but I guessed they would be the same as mine. Everyone was staring at her. It was as if time had slowed to a crawl. Strangely, her eyes were still that same brilliant shade of blue even through the filter of Future Step.

A breeze kicked up, blowing aside Yoruko's hair and revealing a dagger stabbed into the small of her back. Red polygons floated away from the ugly wound. Ever so slowly, she tipped over the window and fell. I couldn't move. Kirito rushed to the window to try to save her, but it was too late. I heard him cry out her name, but the only sound in response was the shattering sound made when an object in the game shattered; the sound a player made when they died. Shortly after that, I saw the blue polygons floating away. The strange dagger clattered to the ground outside.

We now had another murder.

* * *

**That's not good.**

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